


Just Friends

by strawberrylovely



Category: Shance - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Blood, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Light Smut, Lost Mail, Love Confessions, M/M, Major Character Injury, Panic Attacks, Post-Voltron, Secret Crush, Self-Loathing, Shiro is Straight, Smut, Unrequited Love, after canon, or at least Lance thinks he is, shance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 26,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11579457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrylovely/pseuds/strawberrylovely
Summary: The Galra have been defeated and the paladins are finally getting to go back home, which is both scary and exciting. In celebration, Allura kisses Shiro, making Lance feel a little jealous. Not because he wishes Allura would have kissed him, but rather because he is totally in love with Shiro. But Shiro is straight and therefore could never love him back. Or is he?





	1. "Friends"

They had finally defeated the Galra and Voltron was no longer needed - at least for now. As soon as everyone had gotten back to the ship and were getting out of their lions, Allura had kissed Shiro in celebration, thanking him, and everyone else, for helping to defeat the evil. Shiro had looked...well, surprised, but also _very_ happy. And that pissed Lance right the fuck off.

He and Shiro had gotten pretty close the last couple months. The whole team had, what with bonding over trying to take down Zarkon, but especially Lance and Shiro. Which was surprising to the blue paladin, because for the longest time he had thought Shiro hated him. But now they were almost as close as Shiro and Keith. Oh, and Lance was also completely head over heels in love with the guy. Which is why it pissed him off that he wasn't the one that got to kiss Shiro in celebration.

 

"So... Allura, huh?" he'd asked Shiro later when the two of them were walking back to their rooms after their celebratory dinner. Allura had asked for Shiro to sit by her and they had had their own conversation all evening. Lance hadn't been able to get a word in edge-wise.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Heh, I guess she was just very excited about our victory."

"Looked like a little more than that if you ask me," Lance said, his jealousy definitely not obvious in his voice.

"I doubt it really means anything. She's our leader and is just happy that it's all finally over. It'll probably be forgotten by tomorrow."

"Well, she didn't kiss anyone else but you. And you're _our_ leader and you didn't kiss any of us," not that Lance had noticed or cared, "so it probably means _something_. And if you _want_ it to mean something, I think you should go for it. I mean, it's _Allura_ , for quiznak's sake."

"You're right. However, considering we're all gonna be back on Earth soon, I don't think that long distance of a relationship would be very healthy. Besides, she's not really my type."

Lance was both confused and relieved. He didn't understand how someone like Shiro could turn down someone like Allura. ...But also he was very glad to know that Shiro was going to turn down Allura. And it might have been a bit selfish, but Lance couldn't help himself.

"Speaking of Earth," Lance said, with a swift change of subject, "we're all still going to keep in touch right? Even though we're from different parts of the world?"

"Of course! There's no way I'm losing touch with my favorite sharpshooter," Shiro said and ruffled Lance's hair. Lance was glad Shiro couldn't see his face when he did, because he had started blushing.

They had made it to the hallway that everyone's rooms were in and were about to part ways when Shiro pulled Lance in for a hug.

"I'm glad I met you, Lance. It makes me proud to have served alongside you. I'm so happy that we're all safe. I'm happy you're safe."

Lance was frozen in shock. Shiro had never hugged him before. He'd never said anything like that to him either. The Galra defeated _and_ Shiro telling him he was happy he specifically was safe? Lance could have died happy right then and there. He suddenly realized he hadn't responded to the words or the hug and quickly wrapped his arms around Shiro in return.

"I feel the same, Shiro. Thank you. I'm glad to have had you as my leader all this time."

Shiro squeezed him tighter for a second before letting go. He then smiled, nodded his head once, and walked to his room.

Lance ran to his own room once his feet had started working again and shut his door, slumping against it. He clutched his chest where his heart felt like it was going to beat out of it and smiled. Zarkon who?

 

\--

 

"I don't know, I just feel like...I've been out here for so long. What if I don't exactly...fit in back on Earth?"

It was a few days before they were set to make it back to Earth and Shiro was laying upside down on Lance's bed, the bed's owner laying the other way next to him. They were both in their pajamas, feeling comfortable in the vulnerability of it. This was a usual position for them, whoever's bed they were on. Lance had started the trend one night when he'd just needed to talk. He came into Shiro's room unannounced and laid upside down on his bed, Shiro following suit the opposite direction. It was actually something that had helped their friendship grow stronger. They'd started having these talks whenever one of them was feeling down, but it had slowly evolved into a more frequent occurrence of whenever they felt like it.

"You have a metal arm, of course you're not gonna 'fit in' back on Earth," Lance said, trying to stay light hearted as always.

"That's exactly it. I have a metal killing machine for an arm, scars all over my body, and I mean, I haven't talked to anyone but you guys for the past few years. Not to mention my family still thinks I'm dead. What if they saw me like this? What would that do to them?"

"My family probably thinks I'm dead too. But hey, just think of how happy they will be just to know you're alive!"

"What if they've already moved on, though? They thought I was dead a whole year before we even started this."

"Hey," Lance said, sitting up and nudging for Shiro to sit up as well.

Shiro did as he was asked, the two boys now facing in each other's direction. He immediately brought his knees to his chest and looked down at the bed.

"Look at me," Lance said softly, more of a suggestion than a demand.

The soon-to-be ex-black paladin looked up at Lance. His grey eyes shone with sadness and fear, though his face posed a question.

"You listen to me, Takashi Shirogane. Your family would be absolutely thrilled to see you alive and well. It doesn't matter that you've got some bumps and bruises. It doesn't matter that you're changed both inside and out. Your family loves you and misses you every day. And as for not fitting in, we just saved the entire goddamn universe. Who cares if you fit in? You're a hero. All of us are. And we'll be right there with you, whenever you need us."

"Thank you Lance," Shiro smiled softly.

He put his hand down on top of Lance's, which was resting on the bed. It was his Galra hand though, which Shiro realized only after, and he moved it back on the bed, his metal fingers retracting from Lance's hand. Without hesitation, Lance moved his own hand forward and laced his human fingers with Shiro's metal ones. He looked at Shiro, who was staring at their hands like it was a lifeline, and maybe it was.

When Shiro finally looked back up at Lance, Lance's heart swelled. Shiro's eyes still showed sadness and fear, but it was lighter, a new emotion shining through. He knew the emotion well, but he also knew it probably wasn't meant in the same way that he'd looked at Shiro so many times before. It was love. Shiro loved him, platonically or otherwise, and it warmed his entire body. And when Shiro smiled at him, well that was just the icing on the cake. 

"I'm glad we're friends, Lance. I don't know what I'd do without you."

And there it was. "Friends." The word Lance both hated and loved. He was glad to be friends with Shiro, of course, but he wanted more than anything to be something greater than that. But he knew that could never happen. Shiro wasn't interested in him, or guys at all for all he knew. It was worth it, though. To be close with Shiro, to be able to talk with him like this, to hear Shiro say such nice things to him, it was worth it.

"You'd probably have less headaches, that's for sure," he joked.

Shiro laughed and shook his head. Their hands were still entwined and neither boy seemed like they were ready to let go just yet.

"We wouldn't have been able to form Voltron without you. We would all take ourselves too seriously without you. I wouldn't have anyone to whine to about missing home without you."

"Are you sure about that last one? Keith could probably-"

"It's different. With Keith. I don't know, it's just...different. You're important to me, Lance. Just as much as Keith or anyone else for that matter. Stop trying to downplay that."

"I'm sorry. I..." His mouth opened and closed soundlessly, unable to voice what he was feeling until he settled on repeating Shiro's sentiments. "You're important to me, too, Shiro."

They smiled at each other, both enjoying the other's company and friendship in that moment. Lance really wanted to kiss Shiro right then, and if their situation was different, he would have.

"I think I need to start heading back to my room to get some rest," Shiro said as he stood up, his hand lingering in Lance's before he took it back. "Thank you for talking with me."

"Of course! Have a good night."

"You too, Lance."

And then he was gone, leaving Lance alone, sitting up in his bed, smile falling slowly due to the ache in his heart. As he climbed into bed, he cursed himself for falling for a straight boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! so, if you've read my fic Text Me (and if you haven't, you should), you know that i had some help from the audience, who gave me ideas of what to write to create more content. i'm not saying that this one will be like that, because i DO have some sort of inkling of what i want to do to finish this one out, but if you want to, slip 'n slide some ideas my way and i may write them in!
> 
> or just leave a comment saying you like this and want me to continue ;D


	2. Headed to Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't know why but apparently in every fic i write i have to have Lance watching some sort of liquid roll down Shiro's neck to his chest so i hope you enjoy it as much as Lance does lol

"What if I never seen him again, Hunk?"

They were sitting in the kitchen, Hunk working with the oven and Lance watching him from the other side of the counter. They were leaving tomorrow and Hunk wanted to get one last use of the oven before they left, and Lance decided to keep him company. But also he needed someone to whine about Shiro to and Hunk was the only one who cared enough to listen.

"You'll see him again. He told you he wasn't going to lose touch with you, right?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then trust in that. You two have gotten really close lately, everyone can see that. Even Keith. You'll see him again. And even if he doesn't contact you, I know you're too crazy about him to not reach out to him yourself."

"I wouldn't say _crazy_..."

Hunk stopped what he was doing and gave Lance a look.

"Yesterday you described to me in full detail what all four of your children's names would be and what they would look like, even though it's scientifically impossible for you to procreate with him. Unless of course they discovered how to do that while we were gone."

Lance pouted at Hunk for calling him out and plopped his arm on the table, resting his chin on his hand.

A few minutes later, Shiro came in and walked straight to the cabinet. He was wearing a tank top that was showing his muscly arms and he was sweating, obviously just getting back from training with the bots one last time. He grabbed a glass and poured himself some water, chugging it down in a few gulps. A few drops leaked from the sides of the glass and ran past Shiro's jaw and down his neck, slowly making their way to his chest.

Hunk slammed his pan down on the counter suddenly and Lance's head slipped from his hand in surprise, his eyes snapping away from Shiro.

"What?" he asked Hunk quietly.

"You were staring," Hunk whispered back.

"...Oh."

"Ahh," Shiro sighed once his thirst was quenched. "Hey guys," he said almost breathlessly. "What's going on?"

"I'm baking some take-home cookies in here for the last time and Lance is making a near fool of himself."

Shiro breathed a laugh at Hunk's remark.

"What-?"

"Uhhh, so it looks like you've been working hard," Lance interjected. "Why are you all sweaty?" he asked with a scrunched nose, as if he wasn't completely thrilled to see Shiro like that.

"I thought I might get one more training session in before we leave tomorrow. Not that we need to train anymore, but it's a great work out."

"Mmm...yeah..."

"Anyway," Hunk said, drawing attention away from Lance who was out of it again. "We were just talking about going home and never seeing each other again. Which is _not_ happening. Right, Shiro?"

"What? No way! You guys are family! We'll have a bunch of get togethers all the time! Who cares if you're on the other side of the world? I love you guys too much to not keep you in my life."

Lance's eyes were blown wide and he was sitting there with a dumb smile on his face. Thankfully, Hunk responded for both of them.

"We love you too, Shiro."

"Thanks, Hunk. Well hey, I'm gonna go shower now. I'll see you at dinner! Lance, we still on to hang later tonight?"

Lance nodded his head fervently, scared that if he opened his mouth he'd say something stupid.

"Cool." And with that, he left.

"He said he loved me," Lance blurted once Shiro was gone.

"You love sick fool," Hunk shook his head fondly. "He said he loved all of us, but sure Lance. He technically said he loved you."

Lance hummed, fully smitten. He knew he was being ridiculous, but hey, he'd take what he could get when it came to Shiro. Especially Shiro _technically_ saying he loved him. 

 

\--

 

Their flight back to Earth the next day was quicker than expected. They had jumped through a worm hole that landed them only a few planets away. They'd be home in no time.

"Well, this is it you guys," Shiro said to the other people on the ship (and the mice) as they all gathered near the entrance. Sam and Matt Holt, who had finally been reunited with Pidge, were there as well. "It's been an honor working with all of you."

As he looked around, everyone gave him weird looks as if they were wondering why he was being so formal. Quickly, he broke his 'stoic leader' character and started hugging everyone. They were all laughing and hugging and crying and 'I love yous' were thrown around between them all. They really were one big family. 

As Coran finally let go of his hold on Lance, the ex-blue paladin had only one person left to hug that he'd purposefully saved for last. He turned around and was met with arms open towards him.

"My turn," Shiro said, smiling.

Lance wrapped his arms around the older boy, feeling strong arms wrap around his own smaller frame.

"I have the address you gave me. I still can't believe you remember it after all this time," Shiro said as they pulled away.

"It was something I would repeat when I missed home, so I never forgot it."

"Well, when I get home, I'll write you a letter with my phone number so we can stay in contact, okay? And make sure Hunk gets it as well."

"Sounds good."

They hugged again, squeezing each other tight. Lance didn't ever want to let go, but he knew he had to. When they finally pulled apart, his eyes were watering. He hoped it wasn't noticeable.

"Are you crying?"

Apparently it was.

"No. My eyes are just watering because you smell bad."

Shiro laughed loudly, a sound Lance knew he would miss.

"Goodbye, Lance."

"Goodbye, Shiro."

"We'll see each other again soon! I promise."

Shiro ruffled his hair and Lance added that to his list of things he would miss as well.

As the ship broke Earth's atmosphere and finally touched the ground, a single tear rolled down Lance's cheek. He wasn't sure he was excited to be home anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i headcanon that Hunk and Lance are both from Cuba and they were like childhood bffs so they live close by each other which is why Shiro said to make sure Hunk got his number as well.
> 
> also D: this may not end up as angsty as i was originally was hoping lol who knows tho ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> we all know i can drag it up from the depths so that it's really sad so we'll see how deep i dig this time. ;)


	3. "You (still haven't) Reached Shiro! I'm Emotionally Unavailable At This Time, Please Try Again Later."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is really not taking being home very well.
> 
> Please read chapter notes for Trigger Warnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SIKE! so I digged a lot... lol
> 
> Quick trigger warnings for this chapter. (I may have written my own feelings a bit too much into Lance this time.....)
> 
> TW for self-loathing, panic attacks, self-deprecation, feelings of worthlessness/unloveableness, that sort of thing. Basically Lance's head tells him a lot of really harmful things about himself and him being alone and he gets triggered. So if you get triggered easily, just be wary that this chapter is kind of heavy. I don't want anyone to get triggered either, especially since I literally started crying while I was writing this, so I just wanted to let you know in advance.
> 
> me: UHM YOU CAN HAVE SHANGST WITHOUT LANGST
> 
> also me: *writes awful langst for her shangst fic*
> 
> whoops ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

It had been two months since they had gotten home. Lance's parents and siblings were overwhelmed with joy, a big mess of hugging and crying from everyone to see that their boy was home, alive and safe. They, along with Hunk's family, had thrown a big party to welcome them back. It was one of the happiest days of Lance's life. Right up there with the day he got accepted into the Garrison and the day Shiro told him he was his best friend (other than Keith).

Speaking of Shiro, Lance still hadn't heard from him. He understood that they had all just gotten home and were spending time with their families and loved ones and Shiro probably didn't have a lot of time to worry about some kid he was in space with for however long. But shit, if Coran and Allura could get the video chat that Pidge set up to work and contact them already, Shiro surely could have sent a letter. Unless, of course, Shiro just...didn't want to contact him. Lance understood if that was the case. He was annoying and overbearing and Shiro probably had a lot of other friends back home that he cared more about... But Shiro had _promised_ , which meant he was going to send it eventually... probably... hopefully... Lance just needed to be patient.

 

"Why the fuck hasn't he sent me a letter yet?!" Lance asked impatiently.

He was sitting on his bed in his room. The same bed he had missed for so long and many nights in space had pretended he was sleeping on. Hunk was sitting backwards in his desk chair, something he'd done time and again, since before their Garrison days. Everything looked, smelled, and sounded like home, but for Lance, something felt off.

"He's probably busy. He's just seeing his family for the first time in years. You know, the family that thought he was dead? Just, give him some time," Hunk had tried to reason with him.

"I-I know, but... I've given him time! It's been two months! He said 'when I get home' which means _when_ he gets home, which was two months ago!"

"Maybe his letter got lost in the mail?"

"Then he should send another one."

"Lance..."

"Maybe I should contact Allura and see if they've heard from him and make them tell him to send another letter."

"Lance, don't be ridiculous. Look, we're all invited to that big reunion celebration at the Garrison next month. He'll probably be there. Talk to him then."

"And what would I say? 'I've been anxiously awaiting your letter like a lovesick teenager from the 1500s, so how come you haven't sent one yet?'"

"That could work."

"Ughhhh," Lance groaned, falling back onto his bed. "This would all be so much easier if I didn't have feelings for him. Why do I always have to fall for the straight boys? And the gay girls? It's always someone I can't have!"

"Maybe you have a type?"

Lance breathed a sarcastic laugh in return as his eyes started watering against his own will. He didn't want to cry anymore. Not in front of Hunk, not because of some stupid guy. Not again. But Shiro wasn't stupid, he was...Shiro. And he was different. But it still hurt the same.

"I'm so tired, Hunk."

"I know, buddy."

Hunk got up from his spot and sat on the bed next to Lance, pulling him up on his lap to comfort him. Lance clung tight to Hunk's shirt as the tears started falling, and he broke down in sobs.

He cried until the tears stopped coming, Hunk, God bless him, holding him the entire time. When Lance finally calmed down, he was worn out and probably dehydrated.

"Do you want me to get you some water?"

Lance nodded his head on Hunk's chest, his throat unable to form words.

"Alright. I gotta get up now, okay?"

He nodded again and let Hunk move his body off him, helping him down onto his pillows. Hunk left the room and Lance took a deep breath, trying to calm himself some more. Everything hurt, physically and emotionally and his eyelids felt heavy.

 

When Hunk finally came back into his room with a glass of water, Lance was already asleep. He sat the glass on the bedside table and covered his friend with a blanket before turning the light off and leaving him to sleep.

 

\--

 

"Mmm....mmnn- nno...No-! NO! SHIRO!"

Lance woke up with a start. He didn't remember falling asleep. He was confused for a few seconds before he remembered he was in his own room. He'd gotten used to waking up on the ship that he was disoriented as he remembered he was home again. It was still dark outside, the clock on his bedside table telling him it was the middle of the night. Letting out a few heavy breaths, he recovered from his nightmare. They had been battling Zarkon when the black lion had gotten hit and exploded, Shiro exploding with it.

Of course his dream had been about Shiro. They almost always were now. Most of them were happy, dreams of him and Shiro kissing or getting married, that sort of thing. But occasionally, they, like the one he'd just had, were terrifying. Either way, waking up always made him feel worse. It always reminded him that Shiro wasn't around, wasn't there for him to touch or talk to. At this point, he didn't even want to sleep anymore. Or, sleep forever? Whichever would stop his heart from breaking every time he woke up.

He sat up, giving the first option a try (not that he could sleep after that dream anyway). He saw the glass of water Hunk had left for him and smiled to himself, thankful to his friend for taking care of him. He took a few sips and set it back down, curling up into himself and pulling the covers over his shoulders. He leaned against the pillows by his headboard and the wall, like he used to when he was sad, trying to become as small as he could to hide from the world.

It didn't take long for his thoughts to become intrusive, reminding him of the pain in his chest that was caused by a certain MIA ex-black paladin who, whether he was in contact with or not, he still had no chance with.

Lance wanted to hate Shiro. All the pain he caused. All the restless nights of Lance feeling like he wasn't good enough to be loved by him. All the time spent crying alone. All the feelings wasted on someone who didn't even have to emotional capacity to return them.

It wasn't even just _him_. Time and again, Lance somehow always seemed to fall for people that were emotionally unavailable to him. It hurt his confidence, ripped apart his self-worth. Made him feel unwanted and unloved. Maybe that's why he always acted out, telling jokes, flirting, being loud, trying to get attention in any way he could. Reaching for something that would fulfill the missing piece of his heart that longed for another human - or alien, for that matter - to find him attractive and worth loving.

He'd told Hunk that he was tired, but that didn't even begin to cover the depth of how low he felt. He never showed it of course, always hiding behind that mask of flirtiness and humor. He didn't want anyone else to feel like he did, always telling jokes to try and put a smile on everyone's faces. But when he was alone, those feelings came back. His mind telling him he was worthless. That no one would ever love him the way he wanted; he didn't deserve it anyway. He was nothing, a waste of a human. Unable to be loved.

He hadn't realized he was crying until he heard a tear fall on the blanket. He tried to wipe his face, but the tears kept coming, streaming down his face. His mind was a whirlwind of self loathing and hurt. Every bad thing he'd ever thought about himself swirling around, making everything worse. He felt himself start panicking and wanted nothing more than to run down the hallway into Shiro's room and have him rub circles into his back as his attack ran it's course like he had so many times before. But Lance wasn't on the ship and Shiro's room wasn't down the hall. He would have to wait this one out by himself.

Alone.

 

He was alone.

 

He would always be alone.

 

The words repeated in his head as he wailed, his heart beating so fast that he couldn't breathe. He gasped for air but it wouldn't come. The words in his head choking him, clogging the world around him. If only Shiro was there. Why wasn't Shiro there?

 

He couldn't move as his heartbeat finally started to slow down. He was still gasping, air finally feeling like it was making it to his lungs.

 

His head was throbbing.

 

He felt light headed.

 

 

His eyes fluttered shut.

 

 

 

He was still alone.

 

 

 

 

He fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry y'all.
> 
> If you've ever been in unrequited love with someone, you'll probably understand this. If not, I'm glad. You don't deserve that.
> 
> I wrote his panic attack as how I remember having one, so if it's wrong in your book, I'm sorry.
> 
> also, please feel free to leave a comment telling me how much you hate me, i can take it ;D


	4. Locked Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins are all reunited at the Garrison's welcome home party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: hey i just wanted to say this just in case anyone thinks Lance is overreacting or too emotional for something not even that big of a deal (or whatever), well, they were in space for a long fuckin time risking their lives every day so i mean, it's likely that someone (if not all of them) developed a mental illness that causes them to be emotional and wreckless (or just a wreck), and i feel like other than Shiro (who basically canonically has ptsd), the most likely person would be Lance. and if you disagree, then at least know that in the canon of THIS story, Lance DOES have a mental illness caused from trauma that causes him to be clingy and emotional so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> (also, this is not a dig at anyone, i just was worried about how it came across myself and figured it would be best to set the record straight (well, not straight LOL))

Another month had passed and Lance found himself sitting next to Hunk on the plane as their families traveled from Cuba back to the States. They were going to attend the Reunion Celebration for the returning of the Paladins of Voltron, the former cadets that had gone missing blah blah whatever the fuck it was. Lance didn't really care. He didn't want to go to some fancy ass party that would only be more publicity and money for the Garrison. Lance was still mad at the Garrison for trying to cover up the Kerberos Mission, and trying to do experiments on Shiro when he crashed back to Earth, not to mention also trying to cover up his return in the first place. The only reason Lance was even going was because he knew Shiro would be there and he wanted to see him. Well, and because Hunk was making him and there would be free food, as well as free private plane travel for all of their families. But mostly it was because of Shiro, who he still hadn't heard from, by the way.

As the plane landed on the Garrison's base, because it was fancy like that, Lance felt his stomach drop. He was terrified to see Shiro again. After all this time, what if Shiro really _didn't_ want to talk to him again? What if he really had been ignoring him the past three months and now that they'd be in the same place, it would all come to a head?

No. He had had enough of that kind of thinking. After months of crying himself to sleep on and off at night, he was finally going to get his answer. He would talk to Shiro. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered except talking to Shiro during the party. Anything after that would be left up to their conversation.

 

As he and Hunk got off the plane, Lance could see just how many people had showed up to this event. Just as he had expected, the party was more of a publicity stunt than an actual welcome home. He quickly got over his disdain, however, when he saw a familiar mullet a few yards away.

"Keith!"

The boy turned at the mention of his name, the confusion on his face switching to excitement as he saw Lance and Hunk waving at him.

"Thought I'd finally gotten rid of you," Keith said as he hugged Lance, then moved to Hunk.

"Me? Never."

The three boys exchanged hellos for a bit, none of them wanting to go inside just yet.

"Whaddup, losers?"

"Pidge!"

They group hugged around Pidge, the girl yelling as they squeezed the air out of her.

"Hey, gang," a voice said while they were still squishing Pidge.

"Shiro!" Hunk yelled, and Lance's eyes blew wide open. He'd almost forgotten. "Join us!"

"No, please no, not more, agh-!" Pidge begged before Shiro's added strength joined in crushing her.

They all stayed like that for a few more seconds before Pidge groaned loudly.

"Okay, you big saps, get off of me!"

"Let's let her breathe, guys," Shiro said and stepped back, prompting everyone else to let go as well.

"I missed you guys so much," Lance said, specifically avoiding eye contact with Shiro. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love being home and not stuck in outer space with the same 6 other people for the rest of my life, but I think I just might have gotten a little attached to you guys."

The rest of the group laughed, groaned, rolled their eyes, and shook their heads, throwing a few _we missed you too_ s to Lance before they all started walking to the front entrance.

The party was in the main training area, big enough to hold a few hundred people. As the five of them walked in, they were greeted with a round of applause. Lance's contempt for the Garrison melted away as the applause made his head swell. He smiled and waved, tossing a few winks to some of the girls he remembered having in class with him. Girls that had rejected him for not being up to their standards. Well, look at him now. Savior of the universe. They'd swooned when he winked, obviously wishing for a dance with him. They could only be so lucky.

As the former paladins and their families were escorted to their seats at the front table, Commander Iverson stepped up to a microphone at the front of the room and gave a speech about something that Lance mostly blocked out. When the speech was finally over, music started playing and people started dancing and getting refreshments. Lance was reminded of when they'd had school dances, except half the people were drunk. ...So, like the school dances.

The paladins all sat at the table with their families, eating and observing all the old rich people trying to dance. After a while, some of their family members started to drift out onto the dance floor. Lance wanted to go out there, but the only person he really wanted to dance with was Shiro, not that Shiro would exactly want to dance with him anyway. The man in question had been ignoring Lance all evening. He'd barely acknowledged his presence and sat the farthest away from him at the table. A few minutes ago, he'd gone to get a drink and still hadn't returned yet.

"Fuck it," Lance muttered under his breath. He stood up, walked over to where Keith was sitting and held his hand out.

"Dance with me."

"What?" Keith asked. He had been far too busy brooding to get up and dance himself, and Lance needed someone to go out and dance with, just in case Shiro might be out there. "Why me?"

"Hunk and Pidge are already dancing together, and it's just you and me left. So come on. Get off your ass."

Had they not grown closer in the past year, Lance would never have even asked Keith to dance with him. And Keith definitely never would have accepted. But Lance had and Keith did, so they walked to the dance floor and tried to act like they knew what they were doing. Thankfully, an upbeat song was playing, so they didn't have to actually touch each other.

They were dancing, Hunk and Pidge next to them, and the awkwardness went out the window. The four of them were dancing with each other, and Lance thought back to all the times they'd celebrated saving a planet together. As fun as it was, Lance knew there was someone missing. He glanced around the dance floor until his eyes locked onto a pair of familiar grey ones staring right back at him. Shiro was over by the punch bowl, drink in hand, watching him and Keith dance together. Lance, of course, got a stupid idea. He rested his arm on Keith's shoulder, pulling him in closer and started dancing on him. Shiro looked away, his face a mixture of emotions that Lance couldn't read.

"Uh, Lance? What are you doing?"

"I'm dancing with you!" Lance finally pulled his eyes away from Shiro and looked at the confused expression on Keith's face.

He wasn't actually sure _what_ he was doing. It was like his subconscious was trying to make Shiro jealous, though he wasn't sure what Shiro had to be jealous of. His two best friends dancing with each other instead of him? That didn't really make sense. He wanted more than anything for Shiro to be jealous that he was dancing with someone that wasn't him, but he also knew that was  
unrealistic. Shiro wasn't in love with him, so him dancing with Keith wouldn't do anything.

Keith kept dancing but he took a few steps away so Lance would stop touching him. Lance quickly looked back to the spot by the punch bowl, but Shiro was gone. He looked around and saw that the older boy had walked back to the table and was sitting by himself. As much as Lance might have been mad at him for breaking his promise, he still cared about him and didn't want him to be left out. He cursed himself for what he was about to do, and stopped dancing.

"I'll be right back," he told the other three.

Lance walked through the small crowd between the dance floor and their table and sat down across from Shiro.

"Hey," he said, trying to sound casual.

"Hey."

Shiro's voice was small as he responded, barely able to be heard over the noise of the large room. He looked very small, which, for a man his size, seemed near impossible. But his body language was that of a child who had been put in time-out. He was avoiding Lance's gaze, taking a few sips of his drink as if he was deep in thought.

"I saw you sitting over here by yourself. I thought I'd ask if you wanted to join us on the dance floor?"

"No, thank you, Lance."

"Oh, okay. Well, I just don't want you to be alone. You look kinda sad over here by yourself."

Lance tried to reach out and touch Shiro, but the older boy jerked his hand away. Never had Shiro reacted like that when Lance had tried to touch him before. Maybe Shiro really _didn't_ want anything to do with him anymore.

"I'm fine, thanks. Your pity is unnecessary."

"My pit-?"

"If you don't mind," Shiro cut him off, "I'd like to be alone right now. Why don't you go dance with Keith some more?"

"I wanted to dance with you," Lance tried. He hadn't spent so much time crying over his love for Shiro just for his first conversation with him in months to be so spiteful.

Shiro's eyebrows drew together as if he was confused by something Lance had said. Lance reached over the table a second time, hoping maybe Shiro would let him touch, at least to comfort. Lance's hand was only on Shiro's forearm for a few seconds before Shiro's eyebrows furrowed deeper into a look of hostility and he shut his eyes.

"Please, Lance," he said in that Leader Voice of his. "Just leave me alone."

"I-I..."

" _Alone_ , Lance."

Lance's heart broke for about the thousandth time in a month, only this time was worse than any of the others. Shiro didn't want anything to do with him, it was official. He felt his eyes start to water and he squeezed them shut, trying to stop himself from crying. He couldn't cry in front of Shiro, it would hurt too much.

He stood up, his face full of anger and hurt, and looked directly into Shiro's eyes as he held back his tears. The older boy's face changed ever so slightly, looking as if he was concerned for a brief moment.

"Fine," Lance said maliciously. It had been harsher than he'd intended, but it got his point across. "I'm glad you never sent a letter. I won't bother you again."

The aggression in Shiro's face had snapped into what Lance could only perceive as fear. Good. Shiro should be scared. Scared of losing their friendship for good.

"Wait, what? Lance-"

"Goodbye, Shiro."

Lance stormed away, ignoring Shiro calling his name as he weaved through the crowd, past his friends, and out the door. 

 

Maybe Lance was overreacting. Maybe Shiro was just having a bad night. Maybe he'd forgotten his promise to send a letter altogether and didn't know what was going on, his bad mood caused by Lance's attitude towards him. Or, maybe, Shiro was actually just an asshole and being back on Earth had brought out his true personality. Whatever was going on, Lance wasn't having it. He was done. Done hoping by some miracle Shiro could return his feelings. Done wasting countless hours waiting around for someone who wouldn't even waste a second on him. Done putting himself out there, only to be rejected time and again.

So sure, he could have been overreacting, but as his head started to fog with all of those terrible things he heard constantly when he was alone, he realized that they were all true. He _was_ alone and always would be. He wasn't good enough for Shiro, or for anyone. And Shiro was just like all the others. Only worse. He'd been Lance's best friend, second only to Hunk, and now Lance would have to deal with not only the pain of heartbreak, but the loss of a best friendship as well.

Lance didn't know where he was going, letting his feet carry him wherever they wanted to go. He realized where he was when his feet stopped in front of a door. It was his and Hunk's old room from when they were cadets. He pressed the buttons to open the door, but it wouldn't budge, a small beep telling him the passcode had been wrong. He tried again, but still nothing. They'd changed the passcode since the last time he was here, and he wasn't allowed in. To his own room. How fitting that seemed, the way his life had been going.

He slammed his fist into the door, a loud bang echoing through the hallway as the tears started to fall. Dammit. Why did he have to cry all the time? Why couldn't he just be mad without his eyes automatically filling with tears? His hand came up to his mouth to cover the sound coming from his throat and he fell to his knees, his other hand shooting out to keep his balance. He was only there for a short time before two strong hands helped him to his feet and pulled him into a soft chest.

Normally Hunk's hugs could help him calm down, but this time, they'd only made Lance's sobs worsen. He wailed into Hunk's chest, not caring if his voice carried through the building.

"Lance, shhh... It's okay," Hunk's soft voice said as he petted the crying boy's hair. How Hunk wasn't sick of always being cried on, Lance would never understand. "Shiro's looking for you. He said he wants to talk to you."

That statement sent a new wave of anger through Lance. He didn't want nor need a half-assed apology from Shiro for making him cry. The older boy would have to apologize for a lot more tears than just the ones from that evening. Lance didn't want Shiro to see him like that either, much less see him at all.

"No. I-I don't want to t-talk to him. Ever again. I wanna g-go home," Lance said through his sobs.

Hunk held him tight, thankfully understanding at least somewhat of what was going on. He didn't make Lance go back in or stop crying. He just held him as he cried, until Lance's knees gave out and he needed help standing.

 

Lance didn't remember passing out, but he woke up on the plane home, a few hours later. Hunk had apparently carried him onto the plane and into his seat while he was unconscious. He felt that his throat was still sore from crying, and everything from the party came rushing back into his memory. Waving at applauding guests, dancing with Keith, fighting with Shiro, crying outside of his old room before passing out. How stupid of him to throw a fit and ruin the party by passing out, causing Hunk to have to carry him around. He hadn't even told Keith or Pidge goodbye.

"I didn't tell Keith or Pidge goodbye," he croaked to his friend next to him.

"It's okay. They understood. I got their numbers so we can keep in contact. I got Shiro's too, in case you want it." Hunk sounded hesitant as he said the last sentence.

"I don't." Lance looked out the window of the plane.

"Okay. Well can I at least say what he asked me to tell you?"

"No. I don't wanna hear it." He realized he may have sounded too harsh, and he knew Hunk was still Shiro's friend, so he added, "I'm sorry. I just...wanna forget about him right now."

"I understand. I'll tell you later, okay? It's important."

 _I'm sure it is_ , Lance thought sarcastically.

"Okay," he said instead.

The former blue paladin focused on the earth passing around them as he stared out the window. He'd soon be home, far away from the party, the Garrison, and, most importantly, Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, right around this chapter I decided to take it in a different turn than originally planned, so if there are some things at the beginning that seem like they would be obvious foreshadowing that don't go anywhere (like, idk, Allura kissing Shiro), it's because originally I was gonna go somewhere else with this, but then I found the current storyline and made it better <3 I might eventually write a small one shot for the thrown out idea though, so keep an eye out.


	5. Refrigerator

It was late in the night when the McClain and Garrett families made it back to Cuba. Lance had told Hunk as they went to their separate houses that he was too tired to talk about Shiro and that he would do it tomorrow.

Tomorrow, of course, came and went. Lance still wasn't ready to talk about it. He never would be. He didn't want to talk about the party, or about Shiro, or anything regarding Voltron ever again. In fact, it took three days after the party for him to even talk to anyone about why he was so down.

"Mijo, you must tell me why you look so sad all the time. Are you not happy to be home?"

Lance's mother was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, her apron on and hair pulled back while she waited for dinner to cook. She looked at her son who was laying on the couch and staring at the ceiling.

"No, Mamá I am, I...It's complicated."

"You've been saying that the past two months. You are not allowed to use that excuse any longer."

"Mam-"

"I don't care if you've been out in space for however long and now you're a grown man that doesn't need his mother, you're telling me what is going on right now."

Lance sat up on the couch, not wanting to bring up all of those feelings, but knowing his mother would not drop the issue if he didn't.

"...I was supposed to get a letter from... someone very important. But they never sent it, even though they promised. I waited months for their letter, but it never came. And then we saw each other at the party and I realized that they never sent it because they didn't want anything to do with me."

His face felt hot as he finished and his mother was looking at him with an expression of worry.

"Oh, my baby... Come here."

She held her arms out for her son, who got up and walked to her. He hugged her back as she embraced him.

"Whoever this person is, they don't deserve your time or attention. You are so much better off without them."

"Thank you, Mamá."

"Of course, mi hijo."

Lance let himself be held by his mother. He would never have enough of his mother's hugs. Sure, while they were in space, Hunk was a nice substitute, but nothing beat the real thing. They stayed like that another moment before she pulled away.

"Come into the kitchen and help me with dinner," she said, putting her hand on Lance's cheek. "It will help to get your mind off it."

Lance followed his mother into the kitchen and got to work. He stirred this, mixed that, and fetched ingredients whenever she needed something. He was actually starting to feel better.

"I need two eggs please," his mother said.

Lance walked over to the fridge and started to open it when something caught his eye. It was an envelope, the name on it covered by a large magnet. How had he not noticed it before?

He plucked it from beneath the magnet as he grabbed the eggs, handing them to his mother. He looked at the letter and his eyes grew as he saw his name and address scrawled in messy handwriting on the front of the envelop. His eyes darted to the corner, where the return address was and nearly screamed when he saw the name - Takashi Shirogane.

"Mamá..." Lance's voice was slow, not yet sure how to react. "How long has this letter been on the refrigerator?"

"It came a few weeks after you got home. I figured you saw it and just left it there."

"No. I haven't seen it before. It's been here the whole time?"

"Yes."

" _Why_ didn't you give it to me?"

"I put it on the fridge so you would see it! With how much you eat I thought you'd notice it when you opened the door!"

"Mamá, this is the letter! The one I was just telling you about!"

"¡Ay, qué susto! You must open it!"

Lance ripped open the envelop, a mix of emotions filling his entire being as he pulled out the paper inside. He unfolded it and was surprised at how long the letter seemed. He had mostly just expected a quick note and a phone number, but the piece of paper was filled with words. Lance's heart jumped just imagining Shiro writing a full letter.

 _Hey, Lance_...

No. Nope. He couldn't read this in front of his mother. He knew he was going to cry and not only was he too embarrassed by that fact, but he didn't want to worry her either.

"I'm gonna go read this in my room, if that's okay?"

"Yes, yes! Go ahead!"

He ran to his room and sat on his bed as he started reading.

_Hey Lance, it's Shiro. You probably knew that, but just in case._

Lance smiled, knowing exactly how Shiro would have said that.

_I hope you're doing well. Sorry if this is hard to read, I used to be right handed, so I tried to write with my new right hand, but it's still shaky. This arm wasn't exactly made to write with. Still, it looks better than when I tried to use my left, though. Anyway,_

Lance could imagine Shiro clearing his throat as he caught himself rambling.

_I don't know how many times I've written and rewritten this. And not just because I couldn't figure out which hand to use._

_There are so many ways I wanted to tell you this, and if I'm being honest, writing it down and sending it to you was not my first choice. But I suppose in some way, this is easier. Just in case you never want to see me again after._

Lance stared at the letter, confused why Shiro would think he wouldn't want to see him again. Although, if he actually thought that was an option to whatever it was the letter contained, it would explain why he was avoiding Lance at the party. He read on.

_There's no right or wrong way to really say this, it's just hard. Not because you don't deserve to hear it or because it's not true; it's just scary. It's really scary actually. Sometimes it feels like it's scarier than anything we dealt with while protecting the universe. But I need to tell you because it's been eating at me for so long and if I never tell you, I'll regret it more than anything._

Lance hadn't expected the letter to go in this direction. He figured it was just a 'Hey, How are you, Japan is fine, Go team!' type of thing, which is why Lance was totally caught off guard by the next line.

_I love you, Lance._

Everything around Lance stopped. His heart, the air, the cars outside, the Earth. There was no way Shiro meant it like-

_Like, in love with you. Romantically. (I know you well enough to know that you would doubt how I meant it unless I spelled it out.)_

Oh.

_I also know it's probably the last thing you would have ever expected to hear from me. I'm sorry if this is making you uncomfortable. It's probably weird to find out that your best friend is in love with you. Especially since you're not interested in men._

Wait, what?

"Wait, what?"

 _Shiro thinks_ I'm _straight?_ he thought to himself.

_If you don't want to be my friend anymore, I totally understand. So feel free to not reply if that's the case._

Shit. That explains...everything. Why Shiro avoided him, why he was being hostile, why he looked so confused when Lance tried to talk to him. Lance silently cursed himself for somehow being too ignorant to see the letter that was staring in his face every day. He'd thought Shiro had hated him, but instead, _he_ had unintentionally broken _Shiro's_ heart.

_However, if you don't completely hate me, and you still want to get in contact, I'll put my number at the end of the letter. Maybe we can talk it out and still be friends. Because I would really like that, more than anything. And I promise I won't be weird about it either. We can totally forget about it, if you like. I just really needed to tell you. I hope you understand._

_~~With love~~_  
_~~Sincerely~~_  
_All the best, Shiro_  
_XXX-XXX-XXXX_  


Lance was speechless. His face was wet and he didn't remember when the tears had started falling. It almost didn't feel real. He reread the letter at least four times before he let it actually sink in.

_Shiro loves me._

He repeated it out loud, and he choked on a sob. How foolish he'd been, wasting all of that time and energy thinking the man he loved hated him, when in reality he loved him right back.

Once he allowed himself to believe it, he called Hunk.

"He loves me."

"I know," Hunk's voice said on the other end of the phone, ignoring Lance's lack of a greeting.

"I...Hunk. He _loves_ me."

"I _know_ , Lance. That's what I've been trying to tell you the past few days. Wait, how did you find out?"

"I found his letter. He actually sent it. And he...confessed. In the letter, I mean. He told me he loved me."

"You found it? Where was it?" Hunk said, teasing lightly.

"Lance! Dinner!" Lance's mother called him from the other room.

"It's...a long story," Lance said into the phone. "Kind of. I gotta go, but I'll tell you later."

"Okay. Hey, wait. Have you called him yet?"

"I-No! I gotta call him!"

"You gotta call him, Lance."

"Aaahhhh, okay! I gotta call him! Goodbye!"

"Bye."

Lance opened his door and started to walk down the hall when he saw his mother. He knew she was coming to knock on his door for dinner, but he wasn't hungry. He was too excited.

"Lance, did you hear me? Time for dinner."

"I heard you, but I was wondering if it would be okay if I skipped out on dinner tonight?"

"What? You're not hungry? Did that letter make you lose your appetite?"

She placed the back of her hand to his forehead to see if he was feeling alright and he smiled at the gesture.

"It did. But in the best way possible. He loves me, Mamá. He wrote it in the note. He loves me!"

"'He?' 'He' who? Who loves you?"

"Shiro!"

He hugged his mother happily, not noticing or caring that he had accidentally just came out. She apparently didn't care either and hugged him back, glad that her son had found love no matter what.

He pulled back, a big grin was on his face as he looked at his mother.

"I have to go call him," he said, the question of skipping dinner still in the air.

"Okay, yes, you can skip dinner. But don't make this a habit. And you must tell me all about this 'Shiro' later as well."

"I will. Thank you, Mamá!"

He kissed her cheek and turned around, running back to his room and shutting the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can safely assume that any time Lance and his mother are speaking to each other that they're using Spanish, but I figured it would be easier to write it in English for easier reading (and also because I'm scared of messing up the Spanish since I'm not a Spanish speaker myself)


	6. Cheer Up, Sharpshooter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gold star to whoever recognizes the first line lol

"You reached Shiro! I'm unavailable at this time. Please try again later!"

"No! Aahh, pick up, pick up, pick up..."

Lance dialed the number again; he knew there was a time difference but he couldn’t remember what it was. Not that it mattered. Whatever time it was, he needed to talk to Shiro.

"You reached Shiro! I'm unavailable at this time. Please try again later!"

As much as Lance was frustrated that Shiro wouldn't answer, he loved hearing his voicemail recording. Not only did it mean that Lance was actually able to get ahold of him (if he would answer), but it was also so perfectly Shiro. It was just personal enough to show how friendly the older boy was; the way his voice turned up at the end meaning he was smiling as he spoke. But also it was impersonal and straightforward, which reminded Lance of when he was the black paladin and leader of Voltron.

He hit the buttons to call again. If Shiro didn't answer this time, Lance _would_ try again later. And if he didn't answer later, Lance would call again in the morning. Lance would always call again. He wasn't going to just give up this time.

Thankfully, he didn't have to try again later. After a few rings, the sound cut off and there was rustling on the other end of the phone.

"Hello?" a voice croaked out.

“Uh. Shiro...?"

"Wha-Lance? What the hell, dude?"

"Did I wake you up? What time is it there?"

"Mmm..." Shiro groaned, obviously leaning over to look at his clock. "It's not even 7 am..." he sighed.

"I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm glad to hear from you."

His voice was kind and still rough from sleep and oh, if that didn't do something to Lance's heart.

"It's good to hear from you too," Lance said.

He'd almost forgotten why he called until Shiro's voice came back through the phone.

"Uh, Lance. Not that not I'm thrilled you called, but...why exactly did you call me before 7 am?"

"Oh! I didn't mean to call so early. I didn't even think about what time it would be for you. I just... I needed to call you, because... Um, well. ...You love me?"

"I..." Shiro was quiet for a moment, taking in Lance's statement. "I guess Hunk told you?"

"Actually... Funny story," Lance laughed awkwardly. "I found your letter. I had thought you'd never sent one. Or that it had gotten lost in the mail. But you know me... I-I figured you didn't want to talk to me. I waited everyday for that letter. Turns out, my mother had put it on the fridge and I somehow didn't notice it was there until today."

"Lance..." Shiro chuckled lowly and then sighed at the absurdity of Lance's story. "I'm glad you finally found it."

"Yeah, me too."

"I'm guessing you'd like to talk about it?"

"Yes, I would."

"Well, before we start, let me just say that what I said in the letter is true. I promise I won't be weird, and we can just forget the whole thing if you want. That is, of course, if you still want to be friends."

"Shiro. Of course I still want to be friends. Honestly, I'm just confused why you’re even talking to me right now. You must be...so upset with me for not responding to the letter. I would have! If I'd seen it sooner… I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I understand. But, hey, you thought I never even sent it! _You_ must be upset with _me_!"

"Well yeah, I mean. I _was_. But where you thought I hadn't responded because I was upset, I was just waiting on something I still had hope would come. Until the party at least."

"The-? Oh... Lance. The party. You must have thought... I am so sorry about how I treated you."

"I get it. You were hurt. I mean, shit. How must it have looked that you thought I was purposefully ignoring you and then dancing with Keith right in front of you? That was... Wow, I'm sorry. I do not know why I thought that was a good idea."

"Yeah, that definitely...didn't help my mood. But it's okay, I know now that you weren't just doing it to rub it in my face.” Shiro breathed out a small laugh. “Look, Lance. I think all of this is just one big miscommunication."

"I one hundred percent agree," the boy said, hoping they could just forget the past few months. "Speaking of miscommunication, there _is_ one thing that's been bothering me."

"Oh. Okay. What is it? I'll make sure to fix it."

"To be honest, I'm a little bothered by the fact that you thought I was straight."

"Wait, what?"

“Although, to be fair, _I_ thought _you_ were straight, and look how that turned out…”

"Whoah, whoah, whoah, hold on. First things first. You thought _I_ was straight?”

Lance heard Shiro laugh through the phone. It sounded distant, so he imagined Shiro must have put the phone away from his ear.

"I'm sorry," Shiro said, after his fit died down. “I just- I thought it was totally obvious that I was gay. How on earth did you ever think that?"

"I thought it in space too..."

"Lance, I'm serious!" he giggled.

"Well! For starters, you always called me 'buddy,' 'bro,' 'dude' ...'friend.'"

"I'll admit, I was definitely overcompensating in trying to hide my feelings."

"But then! Allura kissed you and you looked _far_ too happy to not have felt at least a little straight."

"To be honest, I was mostly just happy about being kissed. It had been a really long time since I’d kissed anyone."

“Oh.”

"Wait, so then what did you think I meant by 'she's not my type?'"

"I thought you just meant you liked different types of girls!"

Shiro laughed again. Lance had to agree that it was a bit ridiculous, so he laughed as well.

"Speaking of liking different types of girls," Shiro said. "Are you sure you're not straight?"

"Wh- No! I definitely am not!" Lance said indignantly.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" 

Shiro's voice was light, apparently amused by Lance's frustration at being wrongly mistaken for being straight.

"What do you mean?" Lance asked, completely confused. "I figured it was pretty obvious I wasn't straight too.”

"No, Lance. It wasn't. C'mon, you were always flirting with girls. Allura, any female-gendered alien, I mean, even at the Garrison party you winked at a group of girls fawning over you."

"It wasn't _always_ -"

"Yes. It was," Shiro cut him off. "Trust me. I watched for it, just in case."

"Just in case...?"

"Just in case there was a slight chance you showed interest in any guys. But you never did."

"Well, maybe I never showed interest in any guys because I was already interested in a specific guy."

"Oh,” Shiro sounded surprised. “Um. Really?"

Lance could tell he was unsure of himself. He knew Shiro was torn between hoping it was him and worrying that it was someone else.

"Yeah, I was always really into him, even before Voltron, so I guess I never looked at another guy the same way."

Lance wasn't going to give any mercy. After all he went through thinking Shiro could never love him, he was going to have a little fun.

"Unfortunately, he never showed any interest in me, so I always assumed he hated me."

"Who-"

"Hold on, I'm not finished. Anyway, he used to yell at me a lot, which only furthered my belief that he hated me. That is, until we started to grow closer this past year or so, and now we're friends… I guess,” he added. “But still, I never thought I had a chance with him because he was always bad at expressing his emotions and I took it as rejection."

"Okay, so this guy that apparently had no interest in you," Shiro asked at Lance's pause. "What does he look like?"

"Well, he has jet black hair and sharp features. Also, he's Asian."

"I see."

"Yeah. Sound familiar?"

"It's not Keith, is it?"

Lance smiled at the innocence of the question.

"Yeah, it's Keith," he teased.

“Oh.”

“I’m kidding! It's you!"

"Me?"

“Of course it’s you, Shiro. It’s always been you. I... I love you."

“Really?"

"Yes," Lance said quietly. "I love you."

Lance felt heat spread across his cheeks. Finally, he was able to say those words to Shiro, and it felt better than he could have ever imagined. He heard the other boy make a small sound in reply and Lance knew he was smiling.

"You know, I still haven't physically heard you say it to me yet," he said, his playfulness returning.

"I love you."

“I’m sorry, were you talking to me? I wasn’t paying attention. Could you repeat that?,“ he joked, wanting to hear Shiro say it again.

"Lance..." Shiro sighed in fake annoyance.

"Yes?"

There was a small pause before Shiro spoke in the most tender voice Lance had ever heard.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Shiro."

The two boys remained silent, dwelling in the exciting feeling of spoken confessions and newfound love in the air. If they were together, Lance would have wrapped his arms around Shiro's torso and never let go.

He was the first to break the silence as realization washed over him. 

“What are we going to do, Shiro?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know if you've noticed, given the thirteen hour time difference, but we live on opposite sides of the world, now.”

“Oh. Right.” Shiro hadn’t seemed to realize either. “Well, there’s always Skype? At least until we figure out a way to meet up.”

“I guess,” Lance said sadly. “But I can’t touch you through my computer.”

There was another silence, this time significantly less exciting and much more disheartening as neither boy knew how to approach the situation. If Lance had the capabilities of moving to Japan, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But not only could that be dangerous for their undetermined relationship, but also for his own wellbeing. He’d just gotten home to his family and would never have enough time with them, not to mention his lack of money (one would think being a hero of the universe would pay).

“Hey,” Shiro’s voice came through the phone, pulling Lance out of his thoughts. “Cheer up, Sharpshooter. We’ll make it happen. I promise.”

Lance smiled at the reassurance. Shiro always knew what to say to put a smile on his face. It was one of the things Lance loved most about him. 

“Thank you, Takashi.”

 

They talked well into the night - or, into the day for Shiro - until Lance was yawning every couple of minutes. Shiro knew Lance needed to sleep, and as much as neither of them wanted to say goodbye, they did. They planned a time later in the day to call again, exchanged _I love you_ s and hung up.

Lance got ready to go to sleep and then go in his bed, not even caring that he hadn't eaten in hours. He fell asleep right away, his heart enraptured and his mind flooded with dreams of seeing Shiro again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not my favorite chapter i've ever written, and idk i'm a little worried that it's boring, if you wanted to kindly let me know how you feel about it, what you think i could have done better, please leave a comment so i know i didn't completely mess up n.n


	7. Slow Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fluff in this chapter may kill you, just a warning
> 
> also, this story just got longer (and not because i just updated the chapter) so prepare for more fluff!!! but also, prepare for more angst ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (because i'm the worst and i don't want this story to end yet. come on, you think it's this easy to just have a happy ending? nah.)

"I'm so excited for tomorrow," Lance said.

It had been a few months since their first phone call. Lance had elected to wake up early so that Shiro wouldn't have to stay up late. He needed a good night's rest for his long flight the next morning.

"I am too. I can't wait to see you again."

"I can't wait to hug you."

"I can't wait to kiss you."

Lance's face flushed at Shiro's comment and the older boy smiled in response.

"After everything we've said and done over Skype, you still blush when I mention wanting to kiss you..." Shiro said fondly.

"I can't help it. You're so cute when you say it, and I know you mean it."

"Like I don't mean everything else I've said I'll do when we see each other?"

"Well, yes. But those comments make the blood rush elsewhere," Lance winked.

"Okay, either wrap it up or go into the other room," Hunk interjected.

Lance was staying with Hunk for the week while Shiro visited. His house was far too crowded for an extra body, especially for and entire week. So Hunk said they could stay with him while his parents were out of town.

"Sorry," Lance said from his seat at the kitchen counter, fully embarrassed.

"Thanks again for letting us stay with you, Hunk. It means a lot," Shiro said from Lance's laptop.

"Yeah, it's so lucky that your parents just happened to be going out of town this week. It's almost like some being decided to purposefully make it happen for plot development."

"Right," Hunk said at Lance's weird and totally out of character comment. "Well, you're welcome. Just let me know when you guys are gonna..." He cleared his throat. "So I can make sure I'm out of the house beforehand."

"Uh, will do," Shiro said awkwardly. "But he's right, Lance. We should wrap it up. I need to be asleep by 10:30."

"Ugh, you're an old man."

"I thought you liked older guys?"

"You're right. And you've got the grey hair to prove it."

"I'll make sure to take out my dentures before we makeout," Shiro said in an old sounding voice. "Hope you like gummy kisses." He rolled his lips over his teeth and tried to make kissy noises.

"You're disgusting," Lance laughed.

He'd seen it before when they were on the ship together, but now that they were back on Earth, Shiro's fun personality had come out and he really seemed to be loosening up and acting silly more often. Lance loved it.

"I love you, grandpa."

"And I love you, young whippersnapper!" Shiro replied in that same voice. He dropped the voice and let his lips go before a smile spread across his features. "I'll see you tomorrow, my love."

"Sweet dreams, Takashi."

They blew each other kisses before ending their call and Lance closed his laptop. A dopey grin was plastered on his face as he set his chin on his hand. He was so happy. Shiro would be there, in Cuba, in person, tomorrow. Lance let out a content sigh as he continued to stare out into space.

"You guys are gross," Hunk said as he sat down at the counter with their breakfast. "But I'm happy for you, bud."

"Thanks, Hunk."

They ate in silence as Lance's thoughts drifted to what he knew would be one of the best weeks of his life.

 

\--

 

Hunk drove to the airport to pick up Shiro the next morning. His flight had been near 15 hours long and that meant it would be early morning when his plane arrived in Cuba. Hunk let Lance sleep in, so he was still in bed when the other two came home from the airport.

 

Lance felt a hand softly running through his hair as he woke up. He moaned softly and leaned into the touch. The cold fingers scratched his head lightly and...cold fingers? Lance opened his eyes, still not fully awake.

"Hey, Kitten."

"SHIRO!"

Lance shot up and wrapped his arms around the other man's waist briefly before standing to meet him, hands never leaving his body. Shiro wrapped his arms around Lance's smaller frame and pulled him close. They stayed quiet for a long moment, drawing in the feeling of each other's warm embrace. Lance felt Shiro's metal arm against his back, the cold seeping through his pajama shirt and making him shiver from both the frigidity and the sheer excitement of being reunited.

"When did you get in?" Lance asked, pulling back slightly to look into familiar grey eyes.

"Just a few minutes ago. Hunk picked me up at the airport," Shiro said, nodding towards the bedroom door where said man was standing.

"What? Why didn't you wake me to come with you?" Lance's body twisted around, not wanting to break their embrace.

"I wanted to greet Shiro myself because I knew once you two saw each other I wouldn't be able to get a 'hello' in otherwise."

"He's right," said Shiro.

"You're right," Lance confirmed.

He turned back to the other man whose eyes were perfectly trained on his face. Lance could tell Shiro was taking in every detail of him, and as self conscious as he felt, he loved how soft of an expression Shiro's features held. His eyes trailed over every line and every freckle, leaving no spot wanting attention. When they fell to Lance's lips, he blinked back up to make eye contact, as if to ask for permission. Lance glanced down at Shiro's lips and then back up to his eyes, telepathically giving the okay. They leaned in slowly-

"Hey, so, do you guys want breakfast?" Hunk's voice said from the doorway. Did he not leave before? Had he been there the whole time? "I could make you a real, home-cooked, Cuban meal, Shiro!"

The other two froze, missing each other by mere inches, and pulled away. Lance shook his head lightly to clear the atmosphere and moved out of Shiro's hold.

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'm sure he must be hungry after such a long flight, right, Kashi?"

He turned back and held his hand out for Shiro.

"Ahem, yeah," Shiro said, coming back to the room himself. He took Lance's hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I could eat Cuban," he winked.

 _Stop!_ Lance mouthed playfully.

 

He pulled the older man closer as they followed Hunk to the kitchen. Shiro's arms somehow winded their way around Lance's waist from behind as they walked, his chin resting on the slightly shorter boy's shoulder.

This was their first time seeing each other in person since they'd expressed their feelings. They'd missed out on months, if not years, of touching each other in a non-platonic manner, which meant they were going to spend their week together making up for it.

The kitchen counter had barstools, but that wasn't going to stop Shiro from holding Lance's legs on his lap as they ate. When they moved Shiro's luggage into the guest bedroom with Lance, they each had a bag in one hand, while their other hands were entwined. And while they relaxed on the couch so Shiro could rest from his jet lag, Lance was draped over him like a blanket, head on his chest. He swirled the older man's soft white hair around in his fingers as he dozed, his own eyes taking in the sleeping expression of the man he loved.

He hummed contentedly, low and soft, not wanting to wake his boyfriend. The small vibration through Shiro's chest however, was enough to stir him from his light sleep. He glanced open an eye and smiled as he saw Lance looking at him. He moved his human arm from behind his head and placed it on Lance's back, gentle fingertips grazing along it.

"I love you, my kitten."

"I'm so glad you're here, Takashi. I love you too."

Shiro's smile grew as his eyes fell shut again. Lance's hand continued playing with Shiro's hair and his own eyes shut as he drifted to sleep.

They were only supposed to sleep for an hour, but they looked so happy and cute that Hunk let them sleep till the afternoon.

 

\--

 

When the three boys got back from their evening of dinner and going to the beach, all three were dead tired (as evidence to the fact that Shiro and Lance may have fallen asleep on each other on the drive home). Hunk went straight to the shower, leaving the other two relatively alone for a few minutes. Neither had enough energy for a shower, so they just changed into their pajamas, planning on showering - together, fate permitting - in the morning.

"Whoah. Hey, there, stud. Come here often?" Lance said at Shiro's appearance.

He was dressed in only his boxers and a tank top. It wasn't anything new to Lance; they'd definitely seen more of each other over Skype. But seeing him like that in person definitely felt new and exciting.

"Not often enough," came Shiro's reply.

He walked over to Lance and ran the knuckles of his left hand over Lance's cheek. Lance closed his eyes and pressed against the hand as it cupped his face. Shiro's human hand was big and warm and it made Lance feel small in the best kind of way. As if he was something that needed to be protected, and he knew Shiro would do just that.

When Lance opened his eyes again, Shiro had moved closer into his space. He closed the distance between their bodies and placed his left hand on Shiro's metal arm, pulling it to wrap around him.

"I wish I could see you more often," Shiro said softly in Lance's ear, words that were only for him. "I miss you so much. But I'm so glad I'm here with you now. I can't wait to spend the rest of the week with you."

"Hey, don't worry about _not_ being able to be together while we _are_ together. Let's just enjoy the time we have. We have so much to catch up on."

"You're right. We should get started right away."

"What did you have in mind?" Lance said, looking down at his hand that was tracing circles on the exposed part of his boyfriend's chest.

"Like our first kiss, perhaps?"

"We definitely need to catch up on that one. Maybe we could start right now?"

"Gladly."

Shiro slowly moved his hand to Lance's chin and lifted up his face. Lance's eyes locked with Shiro's before fluttering shut as they made contact. Lance's heart exploded when he felt Shiro's lips on his. For someone with so many scars and rough edges, his lips were surprisingly soft. They were warm and plump and Lance quickly became addicted. He never wanted to kiss anyone but Shiro ever again. His hands travelled up Shiro's biceps and his arms wrapped around the slightly taller man's neck, pulling him down closer.

Their mouths moved together like a slow dance. If their lips were the dance floor, their tongues twirled around each other like partners to a song. Two beings, perfectly suited to each other, waltzing together, moving in time with the beat of their hearts. Every soft moan a cheer from the crowd, every gentle nip a change in tempo. It may have been their first, but it was the most beautiful either of the two had ever had ever danced before.

As the dance came to an end, and the music faded out, they broke apart, breathing heavily and satisfied with each other's performance. Lance pressed another chaste kiss to Shiro's lips before they pulled away, arms still resting around the other.

"Mmm, what else can we do?" Lance said, a mix of pure bliss and tiredness radiating from his face and swollen lips.

"We could sleep together," Shiro said innocently, not realizing what he said until he'd said it. "Uh-"

"I think Hunk's already out of the shower, so we might need to wait for a bit more privacy on that one," Lance winked. "But we could climb into bed together and get some rest."

"I- Yes. That's...what I meant." Shiro's face was red and Lance could tell his tired brain wasn't helping him much.

"I know."

He stole another short kiss before turning the bed down and getting in, patting the space next to him to invite Shiro in as well.

Once they were settled and facing each other, Lance pushed his face into Shiro's chest and draped an arm around his side. Shiro moved closer as well, putting his own arm around his boyfriend's smaller frame. As he did, he seemed to remember something and tensed up. He started to retract his arm when Lance's hand grabbed it.

"Don't."

Lance moved up to face him. He knew how Shiro could get about his arm. They'd had many nights on and off the ship talking about how he hated it and how unattractive and incomplete it made him feel. Not to mention how terrified he was that it somehow made him evil.

"I love you. And I don't care about your Galra arm. I mean, I care, obviously, but it doesn't bother me. It's a part of you. It's not ugly or bad. I know you don't like it and maybe one day we could even look into getting you a new one? One that's not...made by evil aliens... But until then, it's just an arm. _Your_ arm. And I'm not scared of it. Or you. So please," Lance put his hand on Shiro's cheek. "Touch me with it. Hold me with it. We're still catching up, so don't hold back any part of you from me. Besides, I'd love to have it wrapped around me. ...In a few different ways," he added with a lilt.

Shiro hummed and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Please, don't think I don't like it. I love every part of you." He moved his thumb to brush the scar running perpendicularly across Shiro's face. "All of you. Missing pieces or not."

Shiro's eyes were staring straight back at him. They were watering slightly and Lance wondered for half a second if he'd said anything wrong.

"Thank you, Lance."

A cool hand wrapped around his upper body and pulled him into a kiss. It was slower and less urgent than their first, but just as meaningful, if not more. It spoke of promises and hidden desires. But mostly, it was a thank you from both of them to the other. A thank you for being there and helping when in need, and for loving and still wanting each other no matter what.

"Do you think we could kick Hunk out of the house tomorrow?" Shiro asked when they parted.

Lance smirked at the implications behind the question.

"We won't need to. He teaches cooking classes in town every Tuesday. So..." Lance drew circles on Shiro's chest again. "He'll be out of the house most of the day."

"So you're saying we'll have the whole house to ourselves...to make as much noise as we want?"

"Mmhmm..."

"What do you think we should do, then?"

"...We could cuddle."

Shiro's smile spread across his face as he pulled Lance to his chest. The younger boy wrapped his long limbs around him like a koala and he breathed out a laugh.

"Sounds like a plan."

They relaxed against each other, comfortably entwined, and started to drift to sleep.

 

"We forgot to turn the light off," Shiro's voice suddenly said.

"Dammit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the fourth wall break, i just really needed it lol
> 
> my wonderful friend Nico drew fanart of this chapter!!! it's here if you wanna check it out!: http://aastronico.tumblr.com/post/163979969562/hey-kitten-shiro-a-little-present-for  
> he is so talented and i am so blessed to get the chance to get such beautiful fanart drawn for something i wrote! <3
> 
> i REALLY like this chapter, so if you did too, why dontcha leave me a comment saying why you liked it? ;)


	8. Nasty, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Shiro spend the morning together. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've updated the tags, so maybe check them out before reading further. as the tags say, there will be some light smut. ...and that will be happening in this chapter. sorry to kind of spring that on you, but it was kind of foreshadowed last chapter as well. it's not graphic, i actually was able to write an entire functional smut scene without directly mentioning their dicks, so i'm kinda proud of that, and the smut is broken up into sections because Lance just has to check out his boyfriend before they continue. so, in all realness, the smut isn't too bad, but if you don't wanna read it, you can probably just skip most if not all of this chapter (or you can just start reading again around the word 'nasty' lol). just know they're going to Lance's house and that's where the next chapter will pick up! anyway, thanks for reading, and if you enjoyed, please leave a comment telling me what you liked! thanks again!

"Good morning," Lance said as Shiro stretched awake. He'd woken up only a few minutes before and definitely had not been staring at Shiro the whole time.

"Good morning," the older boy smiled. As he stretched, he extended his arm over Lance and pulled him close. He rolled onto his back and brought Lance with him, making the younger boy shout in surprise.

"AGH! Oohhh... and a 'good morning' to Little Shiro as well," Lance said flirtily.

"I don't think he appreciates being called _little_ ," Shiro said, his very obvious morning wood poking Lance in the thigh.

Lance made a suggestive sound and kissed his boyfriend.

"Man, it feels good to finally be able to do that."

"To kiss me?"

"Yeah. You don't know how long I've been wanting to kiss you. But now that we're together and you're here, I can do it whenever I want," he smiled. "I can also do this."

He leaned up again, but instead of Shiro's lips, he kissed his cheek. And then his jaw. And then his neck, down to his chest where he littered the broad area with quick pecks.

"You taste like the ocean."

"Oh, uh, sorry."

"No, no. That's... It's good."

"Does...the ocean...turn you on?" Shiro said, marking the feeling of something growing against his own leg.

"Well, it's certainly not a turn _off_ ," Lance replied with a smirk.

He went back to kissing Shiro's chest. The older man giggled at the feeling, which motivated Lance to keep going. He kissed back up to the man's collarbone and picked a soft spot to start working. He sucked on it for a moment before biting down, causing Shiro's body to jerk upwards.

"Fu...ck, Lance... And just how long have you been wanting to do _that_?"

"Mmm, longer than you'd expect," came the reply.

Lance licked the spot before sucking again, bringing out more soft moans from his boyfriend. His mark was quickly becoming a dark red color while the skin around it flushed pink. Lance let go and pressed a kiss there once he was satisfied with his work.

As soon as he was finished, Shiro's hand was in his hair, bringing him into another kiss. It was rough and pulled small moans from both boys. His hands left the man underneath him for only half a second so he could push up slightly to readjust. He then grabbed Shiro's shoulders and rolled his hips against him and they both groaned into each other's mouth. Shiro's hands abandoned Lance's hair and instead placed themselves on either side of his clothed ass. He squeezed and made the younger man's hips roll again, this time their groans pulling their lips apart.

"Ah, Takashi..."

"Are you okay, Kitten? We don't have to do this now. We can wait if you want."

"I don't want to wait. I want this. I want you."

"In that case," Shiro's hands trailed up to the bottom of Lance's pajama shirt and started to lift it. "You're wearing too many clothes."

Lance sat up automatically and tore his shirt off. He helped Shiro take off his tank top and threw it across the room. Shiro pulled him back down, their bare chests getting acquainted as they both shimmied out of their pants and underwear. When they were both naked, they stopped and took each other in. Lance could finally see up close every muscle and every scar that hid behind his boyfriend's clothes.

Shiro had talked to him about his scars many times. He was self conscious about them and, just like his arm, they made him feel ugly. Lance had only seen a few on the ship, and when Shiro had finally worked up the nerve to show himself shirtless over Skype, the fuzzy connection skewed their appearance. So now that Lance could see them up close, he could understand why Shiro felt self conscious. They covered his whole body, big and small, long and short, deep and shallow. But they didn't make Shiro any less attractive to Lance. In fact, Lance thought they looked beautiful. They told a story - granted, a story Shiro probably wanted to forget, but a story nonetheless. They were a part of Shiro, and the fact that he trusted Lance enough to show him such an intimate part of himself only made Lance's love for him stronger.

Lance ran his hands over Shiro's chest slowly, fingers grazing over his scarred abs like it was nothing. He wondered how he'd gotten so lucky.

"You're so beautiful..." Lance said without thinking.

"Uh, hah. Thanks, I guess." Shiro was blushing.

"You are," Lance reaffirmed, sensing a hint of doubt in Shiro's voice.

He bent down and kissed a long scar across Shiro's lower chest. He wanted to prove to him that he loved the scars too. So he started to kiss as many as he could. He didn't get very far, however, before a warm hand came up to his face to stop him.

"It's okay, Lance."

Lance merely took hold of the hand on his cheek and placed a kiss in the palm. His lips travelled down to the wrist and placed another kiss there. He kissed down the scars along Shiro's arm until he saw a small movement out of the corner of his eye. Shiro had moved his other arm to cover his face in embarrassment, but had his left eye uncovered to watch what was happening. Lance winked as he leaned down to capture Shiro's mouth and the man moved his hands to Lance's waist and gripped tightly.

Lance was straddling Shiro where their hips connected. He rolled again and both men cried out, no clothing to keep them from rubbing together. Lance pushed up slightly and spit on his hand before putting it between them around Shiro. The older man groaned loudly at the contact and followed suit, wrapping his own spit covered hand around Lance. The boy continued to rut against Shiro and their hands moved against each other. They pumped in time with Lance's thrusts until Lance was gasping and coming all over both of their stomachs. He sped up his hand to help push Shiro over the edge until the man came with a shout and added to the mixture between them.

Lance fell on top of Shiro, not caring about the mess. He placed his arms around Shiro's head and kissed him lazily.

"I love you, Shiro. You're so beautiful. I love you."

The younger boy repeated the mantra as they came down and wiped a few emotionally overwhelmed tears from Shiro's eyes. He kissed all over Shiro's face and the man under him laughed as they held one another.

"Okay, okay, lovebug," Shiro said after Lance kissed his lips again. "It's about time we had a shower, don't you think?"

"I don't wanna get up yet," Lance whined.

"Lance, we're disgusting."

"Mm."

"We smell."

"Mmnng."

"And now we're sticky."

"Mmmmmrrnngg."

"Come on, we're taking a shower."

Shiro sat up with Lance still on top of him, showing his strength. When Lance didn't move, he swung his legs off the bed and carried the boy into the bathroom.

"Okay, that was hot. I'm keeping that one for after you leave," Lance said as Shiro let him down.

"You're nasty."

"Only for you, baby."

 

They showered together, somehow both fitting into the small space. They washed their bodies clean of sweat, saltwater from the day before, and their own personal mix of fluids. Shiro washed Lance's hair and Lance washed Shiro's hair. They were a giggling mess the whole time, giving each other terrible hairstyles and trying not to slip as they splashed one another. Once they got out, Shiro put a towel over Lance's shoulders. He wrapped his own towel around himself, then picked Lance up by the waist, causing a flailing of limbs and more giggling as they walked back into their room.

"Get dressed in something kind of nice. We're going over to my house. Mamà wants to meet you."

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea considering I just had sex with her son? From what I know of your mother, I'm not quite sure I'm prepared for my death just yet."

"She's not gonna find out. Besides, if anyone dies, it's gonna be me. ...Of embarrassment."

"I was under the impression that you weren't embarrassed by our love," Shiro said, a dramatic hand to his heart.

"You know what I mean, you weirdo," Lance laughed.

 

They got changed in mostly silence, the love they shared filling the empty air instead of sound. Lance would be holding their morning together close to his heart for the rest of his life. He loved Shiro so much and he still couldn't believe how lucky he was to have someone as wonderful as Shiro to call his own. As he was putting on his shirt, he was pulled out of his reverie when something slapped his bare back.

"Aye!" he yelped.

He turned around to see Shiro standing there with a twisted up wet towel in his hand and a big smirk across his face.

"That's what you get for calling me a weirdo."

Lance glared at him while he rubbed his back. And to think he was just daydreaming about how wonderful his boyfriend was. He thought of an idea and his glare quickly switched to a mischievous smile as he walked over to said boyfriend. Two hands snaked around Shiro's neck and into his hair, causing his eyes to close. Lance scratched lightly and ran soft fingers through the short strands on the back of his neck, making him coo. Lips hovered over Shiro's neck and along his jaw, leaving a warm trail from Lance's breath. Lance stopped right in front of Shiro's lips, the older boy reaching forward slightly, trying to make contact. Suddenly, Lance's presence disappeared and the hands in Shiro's hair were gone. When Shiro opened his eyes, Lance was standing near the bedroom door.

"Ready to go?" he said innocently.

"Not fair."

"What do you mean?" Lance's facade nearly broke.

Shiro walked to the doorway and tried to kiss Lance, but he ducked out of the way.

"You can kiss me after you meet the family."

"Oh, come on. Is this punishment for the towel?"

"You bet," Lance winked.

Shiro pouted and they walked to the front door. Before they could walk out, however, Lance turned around and pecked Shiro's lips.

"That didn't last long," Shiro smiled.

"I remembered that making you wait to kiss me meant that I had to wait to kiss you, too."

Shiro laughed in response. Lance rolled his eyes playfully and started to open the door when Shiro pushed it closed again and pressed Lance against it, kissing the daylights out of him. When they pulled away, they were both breathing a little heavier than normal.

"Let's go see your mom."

"Mmhmm!" Lance squeaked out.

Shiro laughed again and they walked out of the house, hoping their red faces would go back to their regular shade by the time they got to Lance's.


	9. Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro meets the fam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk if this is obvious or not but Hunk and Lance are childhood friends, so they live like, a street away from each other. (hence why Shiro and Lance walked to the McClain house)

The visit with Lance's family was an all day affair. As soon as the two boys arrived, it was like a party began. Lance's many siblings and cousins were there, their children all running around the front yard and in the house, and his parents were waiting by the door to greet them as they walked in. Shiro had told Lance that he was nervous, worried they wouldn't like him. Or worse, they'd disapprove of their relationship. Lance had come out unexpectedly, and it was a wonder that his parents had been so accepting. Lance had assured him they loved him already. Shiro was still nervous, but as Lance's father looked him over, a smile broke out on his face. He hugged the boy, glad that his son had found love no matter what.

Lance's mother, however, was an entirely different story.

"Shiro, is it?" she said straightforwardly.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Shiro."

"Ma..." Lance started.

"Well, first of all, who do you think you are, breaking my son's heart for months on end, huh? And being rude to him at that party? I don't care if you're dating now, if you hurt my son again-"

"Mamá! Please," Lance interjected. "You don't need to be so hard on him. I already told you, it was a misunderstanding. And besides, I broke his heart plenty right back. Right, Shiro?"

"Uh, well, I mean... Yes. But it was still wrong of me to act so coldly towards him at the party."

"You don't have to apologize, babe. It's okay," he smiled and turned back to his mother. "Listen. Shiro loves me and he takes care of me-"

"I'll bet he does," Lance's brother-in-law said a few feet away. He sent him a glare and the man held his hands up in surrender.

"What I'm trying to say is, you don't have to worry about him breaking my heart. I'm a big boy, and I can decide what's good for me. And Shiro is _very_ good for me."

Lance took Shiro's prosthetic hand in his own and placed the other on Shiro's chest. They looked at one another with soft expressions and it was obvious they were grounding each other. Mrs. McClain stared at them for a moment and then dropped her crossed arms.

"You didn't let me finish," she said, her tone already softer.

"Okay, Mamá," Lance sighed.

"First of all, _if_ you hurt my son, I will hunt you down and make you wish you'd never even left that spaceship. So you better take good care of him. Got it?"

"Got it."

"And secondly..." Her demeanor instantly changed and her face lit up with a smile as she held out her arms. "Welcome to the family."

Shiro looked to Lance - whose smile was the same as his mother's - to get the all-clear before hugging the woman in front of him. She squeezed him a little too tight and then moved on to her son.

 

Shiro stood to the side as family members flocked around Lance, giving him hugs.

"Pretty ballsy, you guys coming over here after you just had sex," a voice behind Shiro said.

He turned around and saw a woman, probably only a few years older than him, standing against the wall near the kitchen.

"E-excuse me?"

"Oh come on. Us McClains all have the same 'I just had sex' aura. I noticed as soon as my baby brother walked in."

"Wha- I mean he- we weren't... I-I wasn't... Um... Please don't tell your mom."

"Holy shit, dude," she laughed. "I was joking! I can't believe you actually fell for that."

Shiro stood there wide-eyed and blushing, completely embarrassed. He opened his mouth in defense but swiftly closed it again, unsure what to say.

"Don't worry," she said, reassuring him. "I won't say anything."

Just then, Shiro felt a hand slide across his stomach from behind. He turned his upper body and saw his boyfriend lean to the side so they could look at each other.

"There you are," Lance smiled up at him.

"Hermanito."

Lance ripped his eyes from Shiro and glanced to where the voice came from and his face automatically brightened with recognition.

"Mari!"

Lance moved from behind Shiro and hugged his sister.

"I'd ask why there's entire party just so our parents could meet Shiro, but knowing our family I'm not surprised."

"Sounds like you guys already had a party before you got here," she said, winking at Shiro.

"What did you tell her?" Lance asked Shiro suspiciously.

"Nothing! I mean, I didn't mean to... She said you had an aura!"

"Ugh, Mari, when will you stop telling people about the stupid 'McClain sex aura' thing?"

"When it stops tricking my siblings' significant others."

"Whatever." Lance rolled his eyes and turned back to hooked his arm around his boyfriend's. "Shiro, you've basically met, but this is Mari. She's my oldest sister and a menace."

"It's nice to meet you," Shiro said, extending his free hand.

Mari reached for it, then did a double take. It was similar to the one Lance did when he'd first met him in that shack in the desert all those years ago.

"Nice to meet you too." She smiled and shook his hand without another thought.

 

Lunch went smoothly, everyone somehow fitting into the dining room around the table. There was so much food, Shiro felt like he would never be able to eat again. Lance's mother had baked a cake, saying it was merely just for fun, but Lance had whispered to Shiro that she'd probably made it as a welcome gift for the two of them. The thought that his boyfriend's mother, despite how stern she had acted, accepted him into the family made Shiro's heart swell.

As evening rolled along, most of the men in the family had gravitated to the living room. They were all seated around the television watching soccer, or, as Shiro had learned, fútbol. The women (and Lance and Shiro) were all still seated at the dinner table, talking animatedly with each other. Shiro only caught a few sentences here and there, but he was still enjoying being in the atmosphere that had brought up the man he loved into who he was today.

"Shiro," Lance's mother asked suddenly. "Will you help me clean up in the kitchen?"

"Ma..." Lance started.

"It's fine, Kitten," Shiro assured. "I'd love to help, ma'am."

Lance's sisters and aunts cooed at the pet name Shiro accidentally let slip, the younger boy shushing them as his boyfriend got up from the table. Shiro, however, loved to embarrass Lance. So, he lifted Lance's head up with two fingers and placed a big, wet kiss on his lips, enjoying the sight of the boy's blush before he walked away. The women whooped that time, and Lance groaned despite the smile on his face.

As Shiro walked into the kitchen with the remaining empty plates, he saw Mrs. McClain already at the sink.

"Oh, set them on the counter if you would, dear."

Shiro did as he was told and tried to reach into the sink to help, but his hand was swatted away.

"You're a guest, you don't need to clean. I didn't actually ask you to come because I needed help. I just wanted to talk to you privately for a moment."

Shiro gulped, suddenly fearing the woman was going to rip him a new one.

"I want to say thank you," she said simply. Shiro's eyebrows raised, not expecting to be thanked.

"May I ask what for, exactly?"

The woman smiled and turned off the faucet, wiping her hands on a nearby towel.

"I can tell how happy you make my son. I haven't seen him this happy since he first came home. And even then he wasn't as happy as he is now. You bring that out in him. So I want to thank you for how good you are for Lance. I'd also like to apologize for being so harsh on you earlier. You must understand where I'm coming from as his mother. After seeing how down he was the few months before he found your letter, I wanted to be mad at the person who made my baby feel that way. But after seeing you two today, just for a few hours, I can tell those months are long past forgotten."

She took his hands in her own and held them together, her warm smile still spread across her face as she looked up at him. In that moment, Shiro realized just how small she really was.

"I still stand by what I said of course, about hunting you down if you hurt my son, but I can tell now that this is deeper than that. So instead, I'll just say this. Lance is a big boy, I know that, and he can take care of himself. But he's always been a bit...tender hearted. He puts others before him and forgets to take care of himself. He cries easily. He's got enough sympathy for others to change the world. And he's my only son. Which, having grown up the youngest child with 4 older sisters, it doesn't surprise me. He was always a bit overshadowed by them as well, and doesn't realize how special he is. So promise me that you'll treat him kindly and make him feel loved like he truly deserves. That you'll take care of him, and make sure that he takes care of himself as well. It's all I, as a mother, could ask for, and I can already tell you're a good man for the job."

"I will," he promised. "In all honesty, you didn't even need to ask. I'd already planned long ago that I would do just that, and I'm happy to do it."

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "I really do."

The woman smiled back, a hint of tears in her eyes. She squeezed his hands softly and then let go, turning back to the sink. 

"Are you sure there's nothing I can help you with, ma'am?"

"I'm sure. Also, you're part of the family now. Please, call me Mamá."

 

\--

 

"I'm dead. And stuffed. Like taxidermy, only not as creepy."

Shiro laughed at his boyfriend's terrible analogy as they walked back to Hunk's house.

"When we get back, we can go straight to bed, alright?"

"Okay. Hey, sorry about...my family. They can be a bit much sometimes. Especially Mari. I hope she didn't torture you too much. I also am sorry that my mother tried to kill you."

"Don't worry, I loved meeting your family. Mari was cool. You're a lot like her."

"Yeah, she and I have always been really close."

"I can tell," Shiro affirmed. "As for your mother, we actually had a very nice conversation in the kitchen."

"Was it about me?"

"Maybe."

"Ah, so it was."

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Shiro said, matter-of-factly. He started walking faster and Lance laughed at his boyfriend's attempt to drop the subject.

"Hey! Slow down."

Shiro did, and Lance tugged on his hand to pull him closer as their steps became smaller.

"I thought you wanted to get back?" Shiro asked playfully, bumping their shoulders together.

"I do, but it's so nice out and I want to enjoy walking with you."

It was already evening, the sun was nearly set which cast a blue tint over the neighborhood. The moon was already out and a few bright stars could be seen in the sky.

"This is probably my favorite time of day," Lance said softly.

"Really? Why is that?"

"I think it has to do with the... in between-ness of the sky. Like, it's not quite night but it's not day anymore either. The whole world seems quiet too, like everyone has either gone home to go to bed, or is about to go out for a night on the town. Plus, the sky is always beautiful. And, um... nevermind."

"What?"

"Nothing, it's dumb."

"I highly doubt that."

"Oh? And how can you be so sure?"

"Well, usually if it's dumb, you say it without hesitation."

Lance scoffed and nudged Shiro with his shoulder.

"Rude."

"Am I wrong?"

"...No."

"Then, what is it?

"I...I was gonna say... You remind me of the sunset."

Pink spread across Shiro's cheeks and he breathed out an embarrassed laugh.

"See? I told you it was dumb."

"It's not dumb, it's sweet," he hummed. "So, why the sunset?"

"Well, I mean. You're so calming and comforting but also lively and exciting. Which is kind of like a sunset, I guess? And when you blush! That's like when there's pink dancing across the sky, you know? Um...and w-when we were in space I didn't get to see the sunset all the time and I missed it a lot. But then one day you smiled at me and I thought of how it felt to see a sunset and...Gosh, it sounds so cheesy when I say it out loud."

"I love it," Shiro smiled.

"Yeah, you would. You sap."

"Haha, okay, then. You remind me of the sun _rise_."

"What?" It was Lance's turn to blush. "Why?"

"Because, you're full of energy and you brighten my day. Also, I would love to wake up to you every morning."

"I...Ohh..."

Their steps grew slower until they stopped and Shiro moved in front of Lance. He lifted his free hand up to his boyfriend's face, stroking his cheek softly with the back of his hand. Lance leaned into the touch and raised up to connect their lips.

"We both know you are the complete opposite of a morning person. You would never willingly wake up to see the sunrise," Lance said an inch away from Shiro's lips, their breaths still intermingling after their kiss.

"I'll settle for waking up to you then."

Lance smiled and hummed softly at the sweet words.

"And just how do you intend to do that when we live 13 hours apart?"

"I'm gonna move here."

Lance snorted.

"I'm serious. That's what I'm planning to do. I want to move here, to Cuba, and live with you in our own place. I _will_ do that. Someday. If that's what you want."

The brunet laughed and tilted his head up again.

"Yes," he whispered.

Lance pressed his lips to Shiro's again and they both smiled at the promise of a future together. They stayed like that for a long moment until they were suddenly reminded that they were in the middle of the street.

 

\--

 

"Hunk, buddy! You're home! How was class today?" Lance said. He led Shiro inside and shut the door behind them. "...Hunk-?" he repeated when there was no answer.

The two walked over to where Hunk was seated on the couch.

"You're going to want to see this," was the only thing he said.

 

_Paladins!_

Allura's scared voice rang out through the shaky video on Hunk's phone.

_I don't know how to explain this. I thought we'd done everything right... We missed something. Something big. A fleet just destroyed a moon orbiting around a nearby planet. This...group says they are doing this in the name of the Galran Empire. I don't know if they are Galrans, or one of their allies, but they're too powerful for the castle to take on alone. They chased us for a while, and caused some damage to the ship, but we finally lost them. I-I don't know how this happened, but please. The universe needs your help, one last time. We'll be landing on Earth near the Garrison by tomorrow. Please be there, and please hurry. I pray this gets to all of you in time._

The video ended and the room was filled with silence.

"Pidge sent me this," Hunk finally said. "I'm guessing Keith has seen it too."

"What...does this mean? I thought it was over, I thought they were finally defeated. If there's still one fleet out there, how many more could there be? I thought... How did this happen?" Shiro rambled.

Lance could tell Shiro was about to start panicking. He cupped his lover's face to help calm him down.

"Hey, Takashi. It's okay. Look at me. Don't worry, we'll figure this out. We're gonna be fine."

"He's right, though. What does this mean?" Hunk said dejectedly.

"It means," Lance said, his own voice wavering. "We have to go back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lololol plot twist
> 
> bet u didn't see that coming ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	10. Beach Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron is reunited and it feels so good. For a little while at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANGST CHAPTER LOL
> 
> tw blood and general sadness
> 
> also, before you read, you may want to listen to the song Wouldn't It Be Nice by the Beach Boys. i think it's fitting to their story and it's.......kind of important to this chapter.
> 
> one more thing, i'm just starting school again so (as you may have noticed) updates won't be as frequent because i'll be focusing more on school. but i have a lot of other things i want to work on, so i'm going to try and finish this one up hopefully soon! thank you all for reading!! hope you enjoy <3

Sirens were blaring. A red tint covered the entirety of the enemy ship. The six of them had split up, moving off into groups of two to cover more ground. Shiro and Lance were paired together, fighting to the control room. Shiro's arm would still connect to Galra tech and could potentially shut down the entire fleet; Lance was his long range cover. It'd been a few months shy of a year since the last time they were in space and their combat skills - though still great - were a bit rusty. Surely enough, they eventually made it safely to the control room. There were only a few guards inside that were easily taken out. The two former ex-paladins ran to the controls and Shiro's arm connected to the control panel just as two doors on opposite sides of the room burst open. More than a dozen guards rushed in from either side, locking Lance and Shiro in.

"Keep going! I'll cover you!"

Lance's bayard shot wildly, hitting guards at near impossible speeds. But it wasn't enough. As soon as he shot one down, it seemed another appeared, gun raised towards him.

"Shiro! Hurry!"

"Just one more minute and I'll be done. Buy me some time!"

"I'm trying, but these guys just don't stop!"

Shiro hit as many buttons as he could. He was at least doing _something_ , given the sounds of explosions in the distance.

"Shiro! I can't hold them off on my own much longer. I need your help."

"Come on, come on..." He typed frantically.

"Shiro, I need you!"

"Fuck-"

Shiro tore himself from the panel just as a guard was racing towards them. His arm lit up as he ran at the guard, knocking out a few more on his way.

 

_"So here's what we have to do," Pidge said. She'd pulled up the layout of the main ship, pointing out where everyone needed to go. "Keith and Allura will play defense with the main fleet, using the red lion and the castle as a distraction so the rest of us can make it to the command ship. Hunk and I will go in with Lance and Shiro and we'll help you guys fight your way in, then go back to our lions and help outside until it's time to retrieve you two. Lance, Shiro, you two need to get to the control room, and use Shiro's arm to deactivate the fleet and set a self destruct on the main ship. Once that's done, we'll get back to our lions and fly back to the castle."_

_"Sounds simple enough," Keith said._

_"Yeah, for you!" Lance scoffed._

_"Okay team," Shiro said, always the mediator. "I know it's been a while, but we got this. We can only hope all our previous hard work and training stayed with us. I will say, it's nice to go to battle with all of you again. But let's make this our last time, alright?"_

_They readied themselves and each went off to get into position._

_"Shiro." Lance touched the man's back as they walked towards the elevators._

_Shiro looked back at Lance, his reborn leader personality breaking for a small moment to smile at his boyfriend._

_"Be safe out there, okay? I love you."_

_"I love you, Lance. You be safe too. And don't worry about me." He gave the other boy a small peck on the lips. "I've got the best sharpshooter in the universe covering me."_

_They smiled at each other and Shiro started to walk away when Lance pulled him back in for another kiss. A kiss fit to be their last, and it very well could have been._

_"For luck," Lance breathed when he finally pulled away._

_Their lions were waiting for them as they left the deck and the team flew into battle one last time._

 

There were only a few left. There had to be. They'd both lost count of how many guards they'd taken down, but looking around, the amount still coming for them seemed to have dwindled massively. 

“Lance, on your left!”

Lance, hand on his trigger, pulled as soon as he turned, need not bother to look at the soldier to his left. He kept shooting, hitting as many as he could, still living up to his role as sharpshooter. When he finally looked back to Shiro, the man seemed outnumbered. But Lance trusted his boyfriend’s abilities, and mere seconds later, Shiro had taken most of them out. Lance helped him get rid of the remaining few and it seemed they were finally in the clear.

“Great job, Sharpshooter.”

“Not too bad yourself, Champion.”

Shiro rolled his eyes playfully at the name, Lance being the only one Shiro was okay with using it. They moved back to the control panel, taking off their helmets and setting them to the side. Shiro started working on the self destruct like Pidge had instructed him. 

Lance kept his eyes on Shiro, knowing his peripherals would catch any movement. Or so he thought. A small shuffling like the unsheathing of a knife came to his ears, but by the time he turned around it was too late.

"Shiro! Look out!"

"Lance, no!"

 

_"I'm so proud of you, tete. Thank you for telling me. I'm honored you would come to me first."_

_"Well, after what happened with you, I was worried about telling our parents first," Lance looked down at his hands nervously._

_"That's understandable, but you don't need to worry. I think I took the brunt of it, and they seem to be better about it now. But it's your decision to tell them, and I'll support whatever you decide one hundred percent."_

_"Thank you, Mari," Lance hugged his oldest sibling, their age difference not hindering their closeness. "You're my favorite sister. ...But don't tell the others!"_

_"Haha! Don't worry, I won't tell them. It'll be our little secret," Mari said, making a lock motion on her mouth. "Hey, you wanna know another secret?"_

_"Uh-huh!"_

_"You're my favorite sibling too," she whispered._

_"Really?"_

_"Of course! My tiny baby brother who is like me? Automatic favorite."_

_"Hey! I'm not tiny! And! I'm not exactly like you, I'm only like, half gay. I still like girls!"_

_"Me too!"_

_"Ugh, I already know that," Lance stuck his tongue out at his sister._

_She ruffled his hair and stood up, moving off his bed to the doorway._

_"Oh, one last thing. It doesn't matter to me who you love, as long as that person loves you and cares for you just as much as I know you would for them. Don't go bringing home any jerks, because I'll get rid of 'em real quick."_

_"Don't scare off my boyfriend! Or girlfriend!"_

_He jumped up and put his hands on his hips._

_"I will if they're mean!"_

_She copied his stance._

_"Then I won't date anyone mean!"_

_"Promise?"_

_"Yes! I promise! I'll make sure they are someone nice."_

_"Someone that loves you?"_

_"Yes!"_

_"And takes care of you?"_

_"Yes!"_

_"And will never bring you any harm?"_

_"Mari, I promise!"_

_"Okay. That's all I ask. You deserve the best, hermanito. Make sure you get it."_

_"I will!"_

 

"Lance! Lance, oh God..."

Shiro kneeled down next to his unconscious boyfriend after taking down the soldier that had snuck up on them. Blood was running from Lance's abdomen, Shiro pressing firmly to stop the flow.

"Lance, baby, please... Wake up. Don't do this...Please."

Shiro was sobbing. A few tears fell onto the Lance's face and ran down his cheeks. The black paladin took his free hand and wiped the tears from the younger boy's face. He didn't want him to cry too.

"Pidge! I need help, now!"

 _What's wrong?_ Pidge's voice came through the comm.

"It's Lance, h-he's been-" Shiro gasped, struggling to keep his voice steady enough to convey what was happening. "He's bleeding, Pidge. It's bad. He needs help, now!"

_We're on our way._

Shiro went back to Lance, keeping pressure on the wound and holding his face with his metal hand.

"Lance...Wake up... I need you... Please don't leave me."

He leaned down and made their foreheads touch, pleading and begging with everything he had that Lance would wake up. That he would show some sign of life.

"Mmmnnhh..."

Shiro shot up at the sound and searched the boy's face.

"Lance?"

 

_“What are you humming?”_

_“Was I?” Lance asked._

_He looked back to the computer screen where his boyfriend was watching him put on a clean shirt from halfway across the world._

_“Yes,” Shiro laughed softly. “You were.”_

_“Sorry. I was just remembering this song my parents would sing to each other. I think it was their song from when they were first dating. It's a Beach Boys song.”_

_"You're my beach boy."_

_"Ughh. Yeah, I guess I am. But you're gross," Lance said, smiling at the affection._

_"Yeah, but you love me."_

_"I do."_

_"So... Will you sing it for me?"_

_"Wh-Now?"_

_"No, next week," Shiro said sarcastically. "Yes, now!"_

_"I don't know if I-"_

_"Please?"_

_"Well, I mean, my voice isn't the best, so maybe you could just-"_

_"Lance."_

_"Okay, fine! But it's your fault if your ears start bleeding!"_

_"I'm sure they'll be alright," Shiro reassured._

_"W-wouldn't it be nice if we were older?_  
_Then we wouldn't have to wait so long._  
_And wouldn't it be nice to live together,_  
_in the kind of world where we belong?_  
_You know it's gonna make it that much better,_  
_when we can say goodnight and staaaay together..._  
_Wouldn't it be nice if w- What?"_

_"You're an angel," Shiro said, looking completely smitten._

_"Shut up!" Lance blushed._

_"What! Why? I'm _swooning_..."_

_"Ugh, whatever," Lance rolled his eyes despite his rosy pink cheeks. "Anyway, my parents used to sing that song to each other. It never made much sense to me, because they were already together. So I figured it must have been their song when they were dating."_

_"It kind of reminds me of us, don't you think?"_

_"Yeah, it does. Actually... that's why it was stuck in my head. I kept thinking of how nice it will be when we're finally able to be together, and then I remembered that song."_

_"Maybe it could be our song, too?"_

_Lance smiled, the idea of having a song reminding him of how special and real their relationship was._

_"Yeah. I'd like that."_

 

Lance didn't know where he was. His head hurt, he was dizzy, and it felt like someone was sitting on his stomach. Sounds echoed around him, some sharp and loud like sirens, some warmer like a human voice. What was the human voice saying? Had he hit his head? Why were there sirens?

"Lance?" the human voice echoed again, this time more precise.

"Sh...Shiro?"

Lance opened his eyes. He was on the ground, Shiro leaning over him.

"Lance!"

Shiro's face was red and wet with tears. A sad smile rested on his features and Lance wanted nothing more than to make it better. He wasn't sure what it was that needed to be better, however.

"What's...going on? Why are you crying?" he croaked.

"Lance...You're gonna be fine, okay?"

"What...?"

Lance finally noticed that Shiro was pushing down on something. He followed down the man's arms and saw that blood was covering the hands that connected with his abdomen. Everything rushed back to him with one swift blow and he started screaming as pain seared through his body.

"AGH! Ah, hnnnn gah!"

He was hyperventilating, each breath bringing more pain to his midsection. His screams mixed with the sirens, creating a horrific scene to anyone who viewed it.

Shiro, however, was the only witness to the horror. Moving a hand from the wound, he cupped Lance's face while the rest of his arm held the boy down.

"Shh, I know. I know, baby. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be fine. Pidge and Hunk will be here soon with their lions. We'll get you help soon. I promise. It's okay. It's gonna be okay..."

Shiro repeated the comforting words, Lance's screaming slowly decreasing into pained groans.

"Hey, that's it. Shh, I've got you."

"Taka...shi..."

"Yes, my love?"

"I d-don't want you to be sad..."

"I don't think you need to be worrying about me right now."

"Hmmmm. S-Sing our...song f-for me?"

"Wha-?"

"Please."

"Lance, I don't think now-"

"Don't...mmmake me ask...twice."

"I...um..." Shiro sighed before continuing, starting at the second verse that Lance loved. "W-Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up,  
in the morning...when the day is new?  
A-And after having spent the day together,  
hold each other...close the whole night through..." Shiro sang, his voice cracking as tears ran down his face at the cruel irony.

"Mmm mmm... mmm think... mmm hope and pray...might come true..." Lance's voice was strained, but he would be damned if he didn't sing along.

Shiro breathed a laugh despite the situation.

"Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do."

"We could be marriieeedd..." Lance half-sang.

"We could be married..." Shiro's echo was quiet, but he wouldn't let Lance down.

"And th-then we'd be happy..."

"Then we'd be...happy..."

"W-Wouldn't... that be nice?" Lance whispered.

Bringing a weak hand up to Shiro's face, Lance smiled. He was always trying to keep Shiro happy even in the worst of circumstances. Unfortunately, the moment felt bittersweet and it only made Shiro sob harder.

 

_"What's that scar from?" Lance asked as he laid in bed._

_Shiro was shirtless on the other side of the computer. Though the connection made the video a bit fuzzy, Lance could still clearly see a dark scar across his boyfriend's arm. He knew Shiro was self conscious about his scars, so he tried to make them seem normal by talking about them instead of tip toeing around them._

_"I got badly wounded in a battle and I was bleeding too much. They wouldn't give me anything to help stop the bleeding, and I knew it would only get worse. So I cauterized it with my Galra hand. It hurt like a bitch and ended up leaving a nasty scar."_

_"Cauterized?"_

_"Burned the skin."_

_"Ohh..."_

_"Yeah, like I said. It wasn't fun. But it prevented me from dying."_

_"I'm glad you didn't die, then," Lance joked._

_"Yeah, me too," Shiro agreed sadly, his mind obviously taking him to dark places._

_Lance tried to lighten the mood again, wanting to keep Shiro's mind off of the past._

_"Well, you already know what I'm gonna say about it."_

_"What, you think it's hot?"_

_"I was gonna say 'badass,' but yeah, we can go with 'hot,'" he winked._

_"Thanks, babe," Shiro finally smiled._

_"You're welcome."_

 

"PIDGE!" Shiro screamed, head to the sky in frustration. "Agh, where are they?! You're getting worse! I don't...I don't know what to do."

"Use your hand."

"What?"

"Your, mhn... hand. Cauterize-"

"No. I can't. Lance, that pain is so much worse than you can imagine. I can't put you through that."

"Okay. Then I'll just...die here."

"No!"

"Then do it. I can hhhandle it."

"What if it kills you?"

"Either that or...I bleed out..."

Lance was still breathing heavy. His eyes were drooping and his voice was almost nonexistent. Shiro was right, it was risky, but Lance knew that if he bled out, Shiro would blame himself for not being able to help. Shiro took a steadying breath. He could tell the older man was scared - he was too. But there weren't any other options. Finally, Shiro moved his hands from the wound. Lance's breath quickened, groans filling the air from the loss of pressure.

"Hurry," he said, voice strangled from pain.

Shiro nodded and took another breath. It wasn't ideal for either of them, Shiro to inflict the pain and Lance to feel it, but it was the only thing they could do to stop his bleeding while they waited for help. Shiro's arm lit up and he looked at Lance, waiting for the okay. Lance closed his eyes and smiled, wincing slightly.

His eyes shot open at first contact before squeezing shut again. He was screaming, his flesh burning as the smell penetrated his senses.

The last thing he felt was his face being held by warm, wet hands. He watched Shiro silently mouth his name as the world went quiet and he fell into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i know. leave a comment and tell me how you really feel. i can take it.


	11. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all! sorry about such a long time between updates. school is killing me right now and i haven't had much time or motivation to write. but finally i did!! so here's the next chapter!
> 
> i didn't wanna give a chapter summary because i didn't want to spoil anything, but my chapter warning is going to so i guess it was pointless
> 
> chapter warning: nsfw!! yes, you're welcome. it's not too much but it's there. figured you needed a gift after all the angst (again, so sorry about that) but yes!! the nsfw warning starts around the sentence "A thin finger tugged on the waist band..." and ends at "...like a prayer." if you'd like to skip it (although i suggest not because there's some important plot stuff in there, a few jokes, and truly, the nsfw isn't very graphic)
> 
> also, this chapter is fairly long compared to the others, and then the next chapter will be short. originally i wrote them altogether, but i felt it was just too long, so i chopped it up into two chapters. so yes, that means two chapter updates today! yay!!
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

"You should get some rest."

It was late. Allura had come in to check on Lance and unsurprisingly found Shiro sitting on the floor in front of the cryopod, staring up at him.

"I don't want to leave him."

"He won't wake up for at least another day."

 _If he wakes up at all_ , Shiro's mind filled in for him.

"You know he'd want you to get a good night's sleep."

"What if..." Shiro tried to stay positive. "What if he comes out early? I don't want him to be scared or alone."

Shiro looked up at his boyfriend behind the glass. Lance's face held a neutral expression and he almost looked like he was sleeping peacefully. The small twitching of his eyes, however, gave it away.

"That won't happen. We all know wounds like this take longer in the cryopod."

Shiro let out a sigh at Allura's words. He knew she was right. Lance had already been in the pod for 6 days and Shiro had barely left the room since. He was worn out, physically and mentally from worrying and major lack of sleep. Sleeping in a bed sounded nice, but Lance was so much closer to coming out that he couldn't bear to leave the boy's side now.

"Thank you, Allura. But I think I'm going to stay here tonight," he said, voice sounding tired.

"I understand," she said after a moment. She gave one last glance at the boy in the pod, smiled at Shiro, then left the room.

Once they were alone again, Shiro scooted forward to be closer to Lance. He placed his human hand on the pod and leaned his head next to it, the coolness of the metal relaxing him.

"Please," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please wake up."

 

\--

 

Shiro didn't remember falling asleep. Nor did he remember someone coming in and placing a pillow under his head and a blanket over him. As he got up, he folded the blanket and placed it on the pillow, setting them to the side of the pod. He looked to Lance, who was still in there, unmoving like he had been the past few days. Shiro decided he might as well get something to eat and take a shower, so he asked Hunk to stay in there just in case Lance happened to come out.

 

When Shiro came back in, Hunk smiled at him and told him nothing had changed.

"Thank you for staying with him, Hunk."

"Of course! He's my best friend. I can't wait for him to come out either."

Hunk stood from the steps near Lance's pod to let Shiro take over again.

"You can stay, if you want. Allura said he might be out today."

"I would, but Pidge told me to come meet her after you came back. Something about finally putting together wifi on the ship?"

Shiro smiled, glad that everyone else was alive and well.

"Go ahead, then," he said, waving Hunk off.

"Thanks, Shiro. We'll come back when we're finished up."

Hunk started to leave, but, as if he almost forgot, he turned around and ran over to the pod, grabbing the pillow and blanket Shiro had slept on. He smiled sheepishly at Shiro and walked a few steps before stopping to say one last thing.

"Oh and, Shiro?"

"Yes, Hunk?"

"Thank you for being there for Lance and for caring about him like he cares about you. It was hard to see him those few months without contact from you, and to be honest, I started hating you myself. Er, not that I hate you! I could never do that! I know it wasn't your fault now, but the way it looked then... I just mean... It was rough. I want him to be happy, you know?"

Shiro nodded in understanding. He wanted Lance to be happy too.

"But seeing how you are now, well- not _now_ now since he's... uh, but knowing that my best friend is the happiest I think he's ever been? It means a lot to me. So thank you."

"Thank _you_ , Hunk. For taking care of him and being a great friend. I know he appreciates everything you've done for him."

Hunk smiled and the two boys shared a look before he walked out of the room.

Shiro looked back to Lance with a hopeful glint in his eye. He knew everything would be okay.

 

\--

 

The day dragged on and everyone came in to check on both Lance and Shiro for a while. Allura was sure Lance would be out before dinnertime, but when he still hadn't woken up by late in the evening, Shiro told everyone to go to bed.

"I'll stay with him. If he comes out in the middle of the night, I'll take care of him. He'd rather see all of you when you're happy and awake than if you're sleep deprived."

"Says the most sleep deprived out of all of us," Keith said.

"It's different, alright?" Shiro retorted.

"We all wanna be there when he wakes up, Shiro. But you always staying in here isn't good for you. You should get some rest so he can see you at your best too. Why don't you let someone else keep watch tonight and if he comes out, they'll come get you?"

"I- All I know, if that if it was me in there, the first person I'd want to see when I woke up would be him. So I want to make sure the first person _he_ sees is me. I don't... He shouldn't have to wait for me again. Please. Just... let me do this."

There was a moment of silence as the team took in Shiro's words. Finally, Keith nodded and turned around, signaling everyone else to leave with him. He was the last to walk out, leaving the two lovers alone once again.

 

\--

 

It was the middle of the night when Shiro's doze was interrupted. The sound of air hissing as a pod door opened startled him awake. He stood from the steps and rushed to the pod right as Lance tumbled out, catching the younger man in his arms.

"Shiro?" Lance's first word out of the pod caused the older boy to smile. "What's going on?"

"Lance-" Shiro hugged his boyfriend to his chest, tears threatening to fall down his face when the hug was returned.

It took exactly three more seconds for Shiro to pull Lance's face to his and place fervent kisses all over it. Once he was satisfied, he pressed a long kiss to Lance's lips and the younger boy hummed happily as he melted into it.

When Shiro finally pulled away, he helped Lance to actually stand on his feet instead of just hanging off him. He touched his arms, his sides, his face, making sure Lance was actually there in front of him.

"Lance..."

"Shiro," the brunet mimicked. "What's going on. Why was I..."

"Y-You were stabbed. It was...terrifying. We thought we might lose you. Do you remember anything?"

Lance stared in thought for a moment, trying to recall the mission and how he'd winded up in a pod.

"I remember bits and pieces," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm sure it'll come back to me soon enough."

"That's okay. It's okay. Honestly, it's probably better you don't remember. I'm just glad you're alive," Shiro said, hugging Lance to him once more. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Shiro."

"I thought...you were gonna leave me."

The tears that had accumulated in Shiro's eyes started to fall as he clung to Lance. He rested his head on Lance's shoulder and Lance pressed a warm kiss to his neck.

"It's okay, Takashi. I'm here. I'm alright. I'm not gonna leave you. I'm right here," Lance said, repeating the mantra as he traced calming circles on the man's back until his sobs subsided.

Shiro gathered himself and lifted his head, taking Lance's hand that had been caressing his face and kissing his forehead.

"Hey," Lance said, willing Shiro to look into his eyes. "You look exhausted. Why don't we go get some rest?"

"You just got out. Aren't you hungry or-"

Lance's hand pressed against his cheek again and he moved his other to wrap around the back of Shiro's head as he kissed him.

"No," Lance said as he pulled back. "Let's get some rest first. I'll eat in the morning."

 

\--

 

They slept well into the day, finally waking up around lunchtime and getting some food after greeting everyone. Shiro hovered over Lance the whole day, overprotective and cautious, making sure no strain was put on him and that he was well taken care of. By the end of dinner, Lance was almost back to his normal self again, laughing and full of regained energy. As everyone got up from the dinner table, they hugged Lance again and went to their respective rooms for the night, Lance and Shiro included.

 

"You know, I was always jealous of your room as a paladin. I swear your bed was always bigger than the rest of ours were," Lance said as they walked into Shiro's old room.

"Oh yeah? Well, I was always jealous of _your_ bed."

"Really? Why?"

"Because you slept with it every night," Shiro joked, his first real smile of the day.

"Oh, hush," Lance laughed.

It was good to hear Lance's laugh again. His strength was nearly fully restored and he was carrying on as if nothing happened. Shiro, however, couldn't forget the past week.

He couldn't forget how terrified he was when he saw the soldier stab Lance, and then again when Lance passed out after Shiro cauterized his wound. How he held Lance all the way back to the castle and then carried him into the pod once Coran gave the all clear. The time spent in the pod area waiting for Lance to wake up, scared of the possibility that he wouldn't. All of it, every worry and fear and heartache, was carved into the forefront of his mind. Lance taking off his shirt as they changed for bed only reminded Shiro further.

Lance's wound had healed, completely closed up and pain free, other than being a bit sore, as Lance had told him. But the scar on Lance's left side of his abdomen was big and red, the flesh still new and glaring Shiro in the face. He'd made that scar himself. Yes, it probably helped saved Lance's life, but the pain he'd caused Lance and the grim reminder of Lance's near-death in the shape of a mangled handprint caused tidal waves of guilt and anger to wash over Shiro by the second.

"Stop."

Lance's small voice tore Shiro from his thoughts and he looked into those eyes the shade of blue he'd recently found was his favorite color.

"Stop?"

"Stop staring at it and hating yourself. You saved me, Shiro. You didn't have a choice and I'm here with you now because of it. I know this scar might be a terrible reminder to you, but it's a wonderful reminder to me."

Shiro gave Lance a quizzical look at that statement. How could a scar like that be a _good_ reminder of something so horrible?

"It reminds me I'm still alive," Lance continued as if reading Shiro's mind. "It also reminds me that I have the most incredible and heroic boyfriend in this universe and the next. That he saved my life by helping me, by giving me this scar so that I could be here with him now."

Lance walked the few feet to meet Shiro and took Shiro's metal hand. He placed it on the scar, slowly moving their fingers over it together. Bringing his free hand up to rest on Shiro's neck, he rubbed his thumb soothingly against the smooth skin behind the man's ear.

"I'm alive thanks to you," he whispered.

Lance pressed their lips together, silently reminding Shiro that he was okay, that they were okay.

Shiro moved his hands around Lance's waist and pulled him in close, craving the heat radiating off his naked upper body. Lithe arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders as Lance's mouth pushed deeper into his. Lance helped Shiro take off his own shirt and soon they were kissing again, warm skin pressed together and rough hands skirting gently around bare backs and sides.

A thin finger tugged on the waist band of Shiro's pants, pulling him towards the bed, trying not to lose contact with their mouths. They fell onto the bed and Shiro settled over his partner underneath him and took in his smaller frame. Lance had gotten skinnier over the past few days and his eyes showed signs of stress, but he was still as beautiful as the first day Shiro met him. He leaned down and pecked his lips once more before moving to his neck and pressing long kisses along it.

"For two people who have been dating for several months now, we sure haven't had that much time together," Lance said breathily.

Shiro hummed in response and continued his determined ministrations.

"And we still haven't christened the castle," Lance teased.

"And we still won't."

"Wait, what?" The boy lightly pushed against Shiro's chest, making him lean up to look at his face.

"Not tonight anyway. You're recovering."

"I'm fine, angel."

"You're still sore and fatigued and I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm _fine_ , Takashi. I'm not a weak little baby that you'd be taking advantage of. I want to and I know you do too. We'll be getting back to Earth sometime tomorrow and I'm not about to waste an opportunity to be the first people to have sex in this castle in ten thousand years, give or take," Lance said, finishing his rant with a huff.

Shiro shook his head at his boyfriend, a small smile on his face.

"Are you sure?"

"I am more sure about this than I've ever been about anything in my entire life."

"We didn't pack any-"

"You mean _you_ didn't."

"What-?"

Lance leaned over and reached into the bag next to the bed and pulled out lube and a condom.

"I have...so many questions, Lance."

"What can I say? I had some wishful thinking before we left Earth."

 

They both shed themselves free of clothing and got into position for Shiro to prepare Lance.

"Have you done this before?"

"Not with another person, but yes."

"I'll be gentle."

"Or don't. Whichever."

 

Once Lance was prepared and near sobbing from Shiro's fingers alone, Shiro rolled on the condom and lined himself up.

"Are you ready?"

"Mhmm," Lance whined.

Shiro smiled and pushed in, drawing out groans from both of them.

"Fu-uck. Ah, Shi- Wa-Wait! Don't move yet," Lance begged.

"About to come already?"

"Don't make fun of me."

"I'm not," Shiro teased, starting to lean down to kiss his boyfriend.

"Don't move!"

They waited in silence for another few moments before Lance sighed and nodded his head.

"Okay, now move. Please."

Shiro finally kissed Lance, smiling to himself before he pulled out slightly and started to create a rhythm. He went slow, not only trying to prevent hurting Lance, but also to cherish this moment. To allow himself to remember how much he loves the man beneath him and how much the man loves him.

"Fuck, Shiro..."

Shiro could get used to Lance saying his name like that. And he wanted to. He wanted to keep his promise about moving to Cuba to live with Lance. He wanted to be domestic together and make him moan like that every night. But he almost lost that chance, so instead of thinking about the future or worrying about the past, he focused on the moment, the time they were sharing together, and the sound of his name spilling from Lance's lips like a prayer.

 

\--

 

Lance woke up in the middle of the night. Shiro's left arm was wrapped around his back and the other rested atop his, thrown across the man's chest. Said man was fast asleep, chest lightly moving their arms up and down with each even breath. Shiro was always a light sleeper, Lance knew as much, but because of his sleep depravation the last week, he'd slept more deeply the past two nights and it made Lance happy that the man was finally getting good rest. Lance moved a bit, trying to get closer to his boyfriend and enjoying the slight discomfort of his sore muscles from that evening's activities. He attempted to lay his head on Shiro's shoulder without waking him up, but the movements were just enough to cause Shiro to stir and open his eyes lazily.

"Lance?" he slurred.

"Shh, go back to sleep."

"No, no. Are you okay? Do you need something?"

"I'm okay, darling. I'm about to go back to sleep too."

"Hey," Shiro said, tapping under Lance's chin with a metal finger so the brunet would look at him. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Lance pushed up a few inches to kiss Shiro's lips, then settled back down onto his shoulder, rubbing small circles along some of the bigger scars on Shiro's chest. Shiro took notice of what Lance was doing, and moved his free hand down to Lance's scar on his stomach, lightly touching it with his cool fingers.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

"Shiro..."

"No, I know. It's a _good_ reminder. I just...hate that I had to use this hand on you."

"You used it on you, too," Lance said, moving his hand up behind his head to touch the similar scar on Shiro's left arm. "Now we match."

Shiro smiled fondly at the way Lance always seemed to know how to turn any situation positive. He kissed his boyfriend's head before settling back down onto his pillow.

"You're right. We match."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know how you liked this chapter and if it helped with the heartache of the angst. it only goes up from here!! <3


	12. "Glad you're not dead"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team says goodbye for now. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo hoo!! second update today!! this chapter is short and honestly the main reason i'm posting it now instead of spreading them out is because i don't want you guys to be disappointed later lol. i'm not sure when my next update will be, next week, next month, who knows. but it will probably be the last chapter!! ahhh what a ride this fic has been. i'll miss it honestly. but i'm excited to start new projects, and with this finished it'll free up more space in my brain for other fics!
> 
> hope you've enjoyed up till now, and i'll see you when i see you! ;)

"It was good to see everyone again. Even Keith."

"Shut up, Lance. You missed me and you know it," Keith smirked.

"Yeah, I did," Lance said, pulling his friend to him and lifting him up and he hugged him.

"Alright, okay. Missed you, too. Now please, put me down."

"Come on, Lance. You know Keith doesn't like to be manhandled," Shiro joked, giving his own lifting hug to Keith who flipped him off after they pulled away.

"Hunky boy, I'll see you at home later so, no need to say goodbye."

"Can I still get a hug?"

"Of course!" Lance said, hugging his best friend.

"Glad you're not dead," Pidge said as she went in for a hug next. "Scared us for a bit there."

"You _do_ care," Lance fake sobbed.

She punched his arm playfully and went to hug the rest of them. Lance made his way over to Allura who was smiling knowingly at the two boys.

"Princess..." He kissed her hand. "I know you're probably upset that you missed your chance, but don't worry. I'm sure there's an alien guy like me out there for you."

She rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug, far too used to his terrible flirting to take any of it seriously. "I will see you later, Lance."

"Are you saying if she was interested, you'd leave me?" Shiro asked playfully, hugging Pidge and kissing the top of her head, much to her chagrin.

"Normally, I'd say 'yes' because, I mean, it's Princess Allura. Who could say no? But after last night...? Hoo boy-"

"Lance! They don't need to kn-"

"Oh, don't worry," Keith interjected smugly. "We already know. Thin walls, remember?"

"Gross, don't remind me," Pidge groaned. "I will unfortunately never be cleansed of the times I was kept up at night just because one of you guys decided to jerk it. Who knew teenage boys were _that_ horny?"

A round of 'Sorry, Pidge' echoed through the room as all the guys' faces turned red.

"Well," Coran said as he entered, thankfully breaking the awkward silence. "Looks like we're almost back to Earth. It's been fantastic working with all of you again. And Lance? Glad you're still with us."

"Thanks, Coran. Me too," Lance said, walking over to the man. "You know, you've always been like a space uncle to me."

He hugged Coran and when they pulled apart, tears were welling up in the ginger's eyes.

"Yes, well. You were... like the son I... Oh, Quiznak. Come here."

Coran hugged him again, openly sobbing for a good couple of minutes as Lance laughed happily at his outburst.

"I love you too, buddy."

 

When everyone had said their goodbyes, they all waited together at the entrance of the castle as the ship broke the Earth's atmosphere.

"Hey, let's all plan to meet up again soon! But like, without having to battle evil aliens that almost kill one of us," Hunk said.

"Yeah!" Pidge agreed. "We can go to the space mall!"

"Yes, I think that's a wonderful idea. I'll contact you all on your video phones once we get settled on our new planet and we'll plan to get together sometime within the next few months."

"We should start a group chat," said Lance excitedly.

"Yeah, we can text each other memes all the time," Pidge laughed.

"No offense, but if you put me in a group chat I'll block all of your numbers. I don't need my phone blowing up with a shit ton of irrelevant messages."

"Aw, come on, Keith," Shiro said. "It would be fun. It's a good way to keep in touch."

"If nothing else, you can just mute the conversation for a bit," Hunk suggested.

"Either that or we'll just leave you out of all further activities," Lance taunted.

"...Okay, fine. We can have a group chat. But don't expect me to answer all the time," Keith said, trying to hide a smile.

"What's a 'group chat'?" Allura asked.

"Oh, here, I'll show you how it works," Pidge said.

 

"You missed your flight back home," Lance said to Shiro while everyone else talked amongst themselves.

"That's fine. I was thinking about staying anyway."

"I'd love for you to, but you have to go back and see your dad. Also, we don't really have the extra space right now unless you want to sleep on my twin sized bed every night."

"I wouldn't mind," Shiro smiled.

"Shiro..."

"I know, I know. I need to go back and see my dad. I miss him already. But just know I fully intend on keeping my promise of moving to Cuba to live with you. If you still want to, that is."

"Yes. I want that very much."

Lance pecked his cheek and rested his head on Shiro's shoulder until a thought crossed his mind.

"The last time we left here we were still just friends."

"Seems like forever ago now."

"I know. We were just two pining idiots, too afraid to say anything to each other. But now look where we are."

"Maybe next time we leave this ship we'll be engaged," Shiro said, mostly to himself.

"Uh, what was that?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing."

"Uh-huh, sure mister."

Shiro took Lance's giggling face in his hands before he could tease him further and kissed him, but it wasn't long before Pidge was groaning in disgust.

"Ugh, get a room."

"Well, we had one but apparently we were too loud for you guys," Lance shot back.

"Okay! We're here!" Keith said, changing the subject. "Let me off this ship. Sickos."

 

The ship finally landed on solid ground and the front entrance opened to the sound of a large crowd mixed with fans and the families of each of the paladins awaiting their safe return. Pidge was the first to run off, running straight into her brother's arms. Hunk was next, his family waiting right at the front of the crowd. Keith walked out with Allura and Coran, the two aliens standing off to the side of the group as Keith reunited (for the second time) with his father. He'd reappeared after Voltron's first homecoming, explaining that he'd been captured after trying to find Keith's mother, but had escaped and was looking for Keith ever since. Voltron's televised return helped him locate his son and they moved him out of the shack and into their very own home together in the South.

 

"I don't know how we're going to tell your mother you almost died."

"Okay but what if...we just don't."

"She's your mother, she's going to find out sooner or later, and I'm _more_ scared for both of our healths what would happen if she found out we tried to keep it from her."

"Don't let her scare you. She acts tough but she's...no, she's pretty scary nevermind. Speaking of my mother, we should probably head down. She doesn't like to be kept waiting."

 

The crowd swarmed the paladins that had come off the ship, taking pictures, getting autographs and asking questions to each of them. Being the Paladins of Voltron that had saved the world brought fame to the seven of them, and people all over the world knew who they were. But of course, they didn't know their personal lives, which meant no one but their close friends and families knew of Lance and Shiro's relationship - not that it was anyone else's business.

They'd contemplated walking out separately, but decided they were happy to share their love with the world. So, as they took each other's hand, they shared a kiss before walking out of the ship to the cheering crowd and the familiar faces of their families below.


	13. A Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About three years have passed since their final battle that almost got Lance killed. Shiro moved to Cuba after about a year and a half of saving up and making plans. He lived with Hunk in his family's guest room for another year and a half as he worked to save up money to move out. Shiro is 32, has a nice job at a flight school and Lance is 25 and inbetween jobs currently after happily parting from a modeling agency that wanted a former Paladin of Voltron as the face of their company. They just moved into their first apartment together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINAL CHAPTER Y'ALL. what a ride this has been. originally, this wasn't supposed to be ANYTHING like how it ended up (which means, if some things don't make sense at the beginning, that's on me so i apologize) but i'm really proud of it. i hope you enjoy the end! thanks for taking this journey with me!
> 
> also, i'm keeping their age difference about the same as it is on the show (or at least what we believe to be confirmed), where Lance was 17-18 when starting, Shiro 25, 21 and 28 when they left, 22 and 29 when they returned and 32 and 25 here. if the gap seems weird to you, feel free to imagine it differently, but this is just how i pictured it.

Shiro woke up to warm sunlight streaming down onto the bed. He stretched his arms and legs as much as he could with the extra body wrapped around him. Lance was still asleep, cuddled against Shiro's left side, arms and legs strewn across his chest and lower body. It was a wonder that he hadn't moved all night.

Shiro patted the younger man's back and lightly scratched across it to wake him up. A small whine of protest came from the sleeping man and he squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to seem like he was still asleep.

"Lance, baby," Shiro's voice rumbled, low and rough from sleep.

"Five more minutes."

"I miss you."

"I need my beauty sleep."

"You're beautiful already."

Lance groaned in fake annoyance at Shiro's comment, smiling as he finally stretched his body to wake up.

"Okay, you win this round, Takashiiiiii!" Lance's voice raised, caught off guard when Shiro started tickling him.

"A challenger has appeared!"

"Don't! Ah-! Stop- Haha!" he cried, trying to squirm away from Shiro's unrelenting hands.

"Oh, _don't stop_? Okay, I won't then," Shiro said, rolling over and pinning Lance between his legs so he could have better ease at torturing his boyfriend.

Lance's shrieks of laughter filled the air for several more minutes, and he even got in a few tickles to Shiro before the older man finally let up. He smirked in triumph and Lance stuck his tongue out, body squeezed together in fear of being tickled again.

Shiro raised his arms up in a promise that he was finished, but Lance didn't trust him. To prove the battle was over, he leaned down to press their lips together slowly. The younger man's lingering giggles turning into small moans as Shiro kissed into his mouth. Lance's tense muscles finally relaxed as he melted into the kiss, happily pressed between his love and their bed.

"I guess I'm awake now," Lance said, pulling away from Shiro.

"I love hearing your laugh first thing in the morning."

Lance blushed, something Shiro could always bring out of him, no matter how long they were together.

"You're certainly in a lovey mood this morning. What's gotten into you, huh?" Lance teased. He poked Shiro's side in revenge of the the tickle fight that he had undoubtedly lost, and the man above him contracted his stomach before falling beside Lance in defeat. Lance turned onto his side to face Shiro and they smiled fondly at each other, the warm sunlight illuminating both their features.

"I just love you, is all," he said, brushing his metal fingers through Lance's hair. "And I had a dream about you."

"Ooh, and what happened in this dream?" came the suggestive reply.

"Not that kind of dream," Shiro laughed. "I dreamed about us when we were older. We were still happy and we lived in a big house with a dog."

"I hope the dog pays his rent."

"...What?"

"You know, like, you said we lived with a dog, so I... said I hope he... pays his rent...? I'm sleepy," Lance whined when Shiro gave him a raised eyebrow. "Let's stay in bed all day."

"We have to go see your mother at some point. She says she has a housewarming gift for our new apartment."

"Why can't she bring it herself? She only lives a few miles away."

"I'm guessing it's a couch or some other furniture that we're missing. She told me to bring my truck."

"I swear, my mother likes you more than me. She already talks to you more."

Shiro laughed and shook his head. He leaned up onto an elbow and hovered over Lance. Lance puckered his lips and pulled Shiro's head down to meet him. Their lips moved together lazily for several minutes until Shiro hummed softly and pulled away.

"What time should we go?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," Lance pouted, upset about the loss of contact. "We can probably go this afternoon if you want."

"Perfect. Then how about, until then," Shiro said, wrapping Lance up in a cocoon of blankets, "we stay in bed and cuddle."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Yay! My favorite pastime. Well, among other bedroom activities," Lance joked, bringing out a smile and an eye roll from the other male. "Get under here with me, I wanna be close to you."

Shiro undid the cocoon and Lance scooted up to recline against their pillows. He pulled Shiro to lay on top of him, resting the man's head against his stomach. Lance closed his eyes and ran his fingers through Shiro's hair. He'd let his black hair grow out to match the white streak and Lance loved twirling the two colors together because "it looks pretty." They laid quietly for a while, listening to the other breathe, and Lance felt himself start to drift off again.

"Would you ever want to get married?" Shiro asked suddenly.

Lance opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before looking down to meet his boyfriend's gaze.

"Are you proposing to me?"

"I'm...proposing a proposal, I guess."

"I didn't peg you for the settling down type."

"I'm settled with you, am I not?"

"Yeah, I s'pose you are," Lance smiled. "So if we're already settled, what would getting married do?"

"I don't know, I guess I just... like the finalization of it. I feel like, after everything we've been through, we deserve to celebrate ourselves and be happy. Like a happily ever after."

"I think you just want to get married so you can legally claim me as yours," Lance teased, tugging on the strands of hair between his fingers lightly.

"I mean, that _does_ sound nice," Shiro smiled. "I also like the idea of calling you my husband."

"Mmm, I kinda like hearing you call me that."

"I'd legally get to see you if you were in the hospital."

"True."

"We'd be able to have insurance together."

"Ugh, this is all adult stuff," Lance said, throwing his arms above his head dramatically.

"Well, we're adults, aren't we?" Shiro laughed.

"Yeah, but... gross." Lance carded his hands back through Shiro's hair and continued. "What else? Convince me."

"We could...own a house together."

"Oh, I see. That dream put all sorts of ideas into your head, didn't it?"

"Haha, well... I've been thinking about it for a while, actually. I just wanted to see how you felt about it."

"Hmm..."

"It wouldn't change how we are, it would just give us a different label. And it doesn't have to be any time soon. But we don't have to if you don't want to."

"What even would our last name be? Would we do the ship thing like Brangelina and combine our names? Like, McGane?"

"No," Shiro said, shutting down that idea before it even began. "We'd probably just add on to our own last names like 'Shirogane-McClain'. Or one of us could take the other's last name."

"You'd have to take mine, if that's the case. My family is very proud of our last name."

Shiro laughed, knowing full well how proud Lance's family was of the name 'McClain'.

"We can figure it out when we get there. _If_ we get there. You still haven't told me if you wanted to or not."

Lance was quiet for a moment, looking into his boyfriend's eyes as he thought through it.

"I know my mother would _love_ to have another wedding in the family. It's like an addiction - I swear that's why she had so many kids. And my sister Mari would kill me if I didn't make her Matron of Honor. Hunk would want to cook for it, no doubt. And we'd have to call in the rest of the old team to come down and be in it..." Lance looked past Shiro, finally coming to a conclusion. "I definitely like how we are now. But I could be on board with a wedding."

Shiro brought his human hand up to rest on Lance's chest and stuck his pinky out as a question. After a moment, Lance took his own hand out of Shiro's hair and hooked their pinkies together in response.

"Marry me?" Shiro asked. "Maybe not right now, because I agree, I'm happy where we are. But in a few years?"

"Yeah," Lance shrugged, smiling. "Let's get married."

"Then it's official."

"Oh no, I still expect an actual proposal when the time is right. A surprise, down on one knee, big spectacle to show your love, video recording and all."

"Of course," Shiro smiled.

Lance took back his pinky and entwined their hands, bringing Shiro's up to his lips and holding it there for a moment in thought. He then kissed a finger and rested their joined hands back on his chest.

"Officially, unofficially engaged," he said, smiling down at the man he loved.

"I like the sound of that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i asked on tumblr about a proposal and i was returned with a couple negative responses, however i LOVE proposals and marriage and all that stuff, so i compromised. i hope you liked it. i really enjoyed writing this chapter, so please leave a comment and tell me if you think i did good or what you would change if you wrote it. and tell me how you liked the story overall!! i love this story and i'm sad to see it go, but i'm also happy that i get to work on new and different things!! again, thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed! <3

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this fic, maybe consider buying me a [coffee!](http://ko-fi.com/natdashg)


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